Food storage and cooking vessel with a valve

ABSTRACT

According to one example, a removable lid for a container of a vessel includes a valve configured to selectively allow air to vent out of a fluid retaining interior region of the container when the lid is positioned on the container. The valve includes an opening that extends entirely through a thickness of a portion of the lid, and a valve plug. The valve plug includes a valve top portion that extends vertically above a top surface of the portion of the lid, a valve bottom portion, and a valve central portion. The valve top portion is configured to be contracted, by a downward pressure, into a more vertically compact shape. The valve top portion is further configured to, absent the downward pressure, expand back upwards out of the more vertically compact shape.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/894,232,filed on Aug. 30, 2019, the contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to containers with replaceable lids,and more specifically to a microwavable vessel with one or more valves.

BACKGROUND

Typically, food items may be stored in a plastic storage containerhaving a removable lid. These typical storage containers, however, maybe deficient.

SUMMARY

In a first example, a vessel for one of cooking and storing one or morefood items comprises: a container having a bottom and an upwardextending sidewall that terminates in a rim that defines an upperopening of the container, the bottom having a bottom central portion anda bottom perimeter portion that surrounds the bottom central portion,the bottom perimeter portion extending downward from the bottom centralportion so as to create a vertical gap in-between a bottom surface ofthe bottom central portion and a bottom surface of the bottom perimeterportion; and a removable lid for the container, the lid comprising: acentral portion having a valve configured to selectively allow air tovent out of a fluid retaining interior region of the container when thelid is positioned on the container, the valve comprising an opening thatextends entirely through a thickness of the central portion, the valvefurther comprising a valve plug that comprises: a valve top portion thatextends vertically above a top surface of the central portion of thelid, wherein the valve top portion is configured to be contracted, by adownward pressure, into a more vertically compact shape, wherein thevalve top portion has a vertical dimension when contracted that is lessthan or equal to the vertical gap in-between the bottom surface of thebottom central portion and the bottom surface of the bottom perimeterportion, wherein the valve top portion is further configured to, absentthe downward pressure, expand back upwards out of the more verticallycompact shape, wherein the valve top portion has a second verticaldimension when expanded that is greater than the vertical gap in-betweenthe bottom surface of the bottom central portion and the bottom surfaceof the bottom perimeter portion; a valve bottom portion that extendsvertically below a bottom surface of the central portion of the lid; anda valve central portion positioned at least partially within the openingof the central portion of the lid, the valve central portion couplingthe valve top portion to the valve bottom portion, the valve centralportion comprising: a top wide region configured to at leastsubstantially seal the opening; and a bottom narrow region configured tounseal the opening so as to provide an air passageway through theopening; an annular gasket positioned to surround a perimeter of thecentral portion of the lid; and an annular lid rim positioned tosurround a perimeter of at least a portion of the gasket.

In a second example, a vessel for one of cooking and storing one or morefood items comprises: a container having a bottom and an upwardextending sidewall that terminates in a rim that defines an upperopening of the container, the bottom having a bottom central portion anda bottom perimeter portion that surrounds the bottom central portion,the bottom perimeter portion extending downward from the bottom centralportion so as to create a vertical gap in-between a bottom surface ofthe bottom central portion and a bottom surface of the bottom perimeterportion; and a removable lid for the container, the lid comprising avalve configured to selectively allow air to vent out of a fluidretaining interior region of the container when the lid is positioned onthe container, the valve comprising an opening that extends entirelythrough a thickness of a portion of the lid, the valve furthercomprising a valve plug that comprises: a valve top portion that extendsvertically above a top surface of the portion of the lid, wherein thevalve top portion is configured to be contracted, by a downwardpressure, into a more vertically compact shape, wherein the valve topportion is further configured to, absent the downward pressure, expandback upwards out of the more vertically compact shape; a valve bottomportion that extends vertically below a bottom surface of the portion ofthe lid; and a valve central portion positioned at least partiallywithin the opening of the portion of the lid, the valve central portioncoupling the valve top portion to the valve bottom portion.

Another example is any such vessel, wherein: the valve top portion has avertical dimension when contracted that is less than or equal to thevertical gap in-between the bottom surface of the bottom central portionand the bottom surface of the bottom perimeter portion; and the valvetop portion has a second vertical dimension when expanded that isgreater than the vertical gap in-between the bottom surface of thebottom central portion and the bottom surface of the bottom perimeterportion.

Another example is any such vessel, wherein the valve central portioncomprises: a wide region configured to at least substantially seal theopening; and a narrow region configured to unseal the opening so as toprovide an air passageway through the opening.

Another example is any such vessel, wherein: the wide region is a topwide region that is configured to at least substantially seal theopening when the valve central portion is moved downward in relation tothe lid; and the narrow region is a bottom narrow region that isconfigured to unseal the opening so as to provide an air passagewaythrough the opening when the valve central portion is moved upward inrelation to the lid.

Another example is any such vessel, wherein the vessel is configured tobe heated in a microwave oven while the vessel is sealed by the lid.

Another example is any such vessel, wherein the lid further comprises: acentral portion, wherein the central portion of the lid comprises theportion of the lid; an annular gasket positioned to surround a perimeterof the central portion of the lid; and an annular lid rim positioned tosurround a perimeter of at least a portion of the gasket.

Another example is any such vessel, wherein the annular gasketcomprises: an upper portion coupling the gasket to the central portion;a vertical portion descending downward from the upper portion of thegasket, the vertical portion having an outer side that is positionedhorizontally inward from an external edge of the upper portion of thegasket; and a flexible skirt extending horizontally outward from theouter side of the vertical portion of the gasket.

Another example is any such vessel, wherein the container and theportion of the lid are both made of glass.

Another example is any such vessel, wherein the container has one ormore indentations in an external surface of the sidewall of thecontainer, wherein the one or more indentations extend upward to the rimof the container.

Another example is any such vessel, wherein the valve top portioncomprises: a substantially circular top level having an opening in thecenter; a bottom level; and two or more connecting segments that spiralupward from the bottom level to the substantially circular top level.

Another example is any such vessel, wherein the valve top portioncomprises an upward curved flap, the upward curved flap having anopening in the center of the upward curved flap, the upward curved flapbeing coupled to the valve central portion at a bottom section of thecurvature of the upward curved flap.

Another example is any such vessel, wherein at least a portion of thevalve plug is made of silicone rubber.

In a third example, a removable lid for a container of a vesselcomprises: a valve configured to selectively allow air to vent out of afluid retaining interior region of the container when the lid ispositioned on the container, the valve comprising an opening thatextends entirely through a thickness of a portion of the lid, the valvefurther comprising a valve plug that comprises:

a valve top portion that extends vertically above a top surface of theportion of the lid, wherein the valve top portion is configured to becontracted, by a downward pressure, into a more vertically compactshape, wherein the valve top portion is further configured to, absentthe downward pressure, expand back upwards out of the more verticallycompact shape, wherein the valve top portion includes a top levelconfigured to move downwards towards a top surface of the portion of thelid when the valve top portion is contracted into the more verticallycompact shape, wherein the valve top portion further includes a bottomlevel configured to remain substantially in the same position when thevalve top portion is contracted into the more vertically compact shape;a valve bottom portion that extends vertically below a bottom surface ofthe portion of the lid; and a valve central portion positioned at leastpartially within the opening of the portion of the lid, the valvecentral portion coupling the valve top portion to the valve bottomportion.

Another example is any such removable lid, wherein the valve centralportion comprises: a wide region configured to at least substantiallyseal the opening; and a narrow region configured to unseal the openingso as to provide an air passageway through the opening.

Another example is any such removable lid, wherein the wide region is atop wide region that is configured to at least substantially seal theopening when the valve central portion is moved downward in relation tothe lid; and the narrow region is a bottom narrow region that isconfigured to unseal the opening so as to provide an air passagewaythrough the opening when the valve central portion is moved upward inrelation to the lid.

Another example is any such removable lid, wherein the lid furthercomprises: a central portion, wherein the central portion of the lidcomprises the portion of the lid; an annular gasket positioned tosurround a perimeter of the central portion of the lid; and an annularlid rim positioned to surround a perimeter of at least a portion of thegasket.

Another example is any such removable lid, wherein the top level is asubstantially circular top level having an opening in the center, andwherein the valve top portion further comprises two or more connectingsegments that spiral upward from the bottom level to the substantiallycircular top level.

Another example is any such removable lid, wherein the valve top portioncomprises an upward curved flap, the upward curved flap having anopening in the center of the upward curved flap, the upward curved flapbeing coupled to the valve central portion at a bottom section of thecurvature of the upward curved flap, wherein the bottom sectioncomprises the bottom level, and wherein a remaining portion of theupward curved flap comprises the top level.

In a fourth example, a method comprises positioning a vessel within aninterior of a microwave oven, wherein the vessel is for one of cookingand storing one or more food items, the vessel comprising: a containerhaving a bottom and an upward extending sidewall that terminates in arim that defines an upper opening of the container; a removable lid forthe container, the lid comprising a valve configured to selectivelyallow air to vent out of a fluid retaining interior region of thecontainer when the lid is positioned on the container, the valvecomprising an opening that extends entirely through a thickness of aportion of the lid, the valve further comprising a valve plug thatcomprises: a valve top portion that extends vertically above a topsurface of the portion of the lid, wherein the valve top portion isconfigured to be contracted, by a downward pressure, into a morevertically compact shape, wherein the valve top portion is furtherconfigured to, absent the downward pressure, expand back upwards out ofthe more vertically compact shape; a valve bottom portion that extendsvertically below a bottom surface of the portion of the lid; and a valvecentral portion positioned at least partially within the opening of theportion of the lid, the valve central portion coupling the valve topportion to the valve bottom portion; and activating the microwave ovenwhile the vessel is positioned within the interior of the microwave ovenand further while the vessel is sealed by the lid.

Another example is any such method, further comprising opening the valvepositioned in the portion of the lid prior to positioning the vesselwithin the interior of the microwave oven.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and one ormore examples of the features and advantages of the present disclosure,reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of an example food storage or cookingvessel having a container and a lid positioned on the container, so asto close the food storage or cooking vessel.

FIG. 1B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the right corner of thefood storage or cooking vessel of FIG. 1A, with the lid positioned onthe container.

FIG. 2 is a further enlarged cross-sectional view of the left corner ofonly the lid of the food storage or cooking vessel of FIG. 1A, when thelid is not positioned on the container.

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of another example of the lid of afood storage or cooking vessel.

FIG. 3B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the left corner of thelid of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3C is a side view of the lid of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of another example of the lid andcontainer of a food storage or cooking vessel.

FIG. 4B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the left corner of thefood storage or cooking vessel of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of another example of the lid and thecontainer of a food storage or cooking vessel, where the lid includes avalve in an open position.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the food storage or cooking vesselof FIG. 5A, where the valve is in a closed position.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the food storage or cooking vessel of FIG. 5A,showing an example external shape of the valve.

FIGS. 7A-7C are enlarged cross-sectional views of the left corner of thefood storage or cooking vessel of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the food storage orcooking vessel of FIG. 5A, showing an example downward deformation ofthe flexible skirt of the lid.

FIG. 9 is a graph of the observed pressure change over time when hotwater in the food storage or cooking vessel of FIG. 5A is cooled withthe valve closed.

FIGS. 10A-10D are cross-sectional views of other examples of gaskets.

FIG. 11A is a cross-sectional view of another example of the lid andcontainer of a food storage or cooking vessel, where the lid includesanother example valve.

FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view of two of the food storage or cookingvessels of FIG. 11A, with one vessel stacked on top of the other vessel.

FIG. 12A is a cross-sectional view of an example plug of a valve of thestorage or cooking vessel of FIG. 11A.

FIG. 12B is a front view of the plug of FIG. 12A.

FIG. 12C is perspective view of the plug of FIG. 12A, turned upsidedown.

FIG. 12D is an enlarged view of a bottom portion of the plug of FIG.12C.

FIG. 12E illustrates the plug of FIG. 12A having an example top portioncontracted into a more vertically compact shape.

FIG. 13A is a side view of another example plug of a valve of thestorage or cooking vessel of FIG. 11A.

FIG. 13B is perspective view of the plug of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 13C illustrates the plug of FIG. 13A having an example top portioncontracted into a more vertically compact shape.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure are best understood by referringto FIGS. 1A-13C of the drawings, like numerals being used for like andcorresponding parts of the various drawings.

Typically, food items (e.g., leftover food items) may be stored in aplastic storage container having a removable lid. These typical storagecontainers, however, may be deficient. For example, some of thesetypical storage containers may not be heated in a microwave oven.

In contrast, the food storage or cooking vessel(s) of FIGS. 1A-13C mayaddress one or more of the deficiencies of these typical storagecontainers. For example, the food storage or cooking vessel(s) of FIGS.1A-13C may be heated in a microwave oven (even when the food storage orcooking vessel is sealed by a lid). This may, in some examples, preventa user from having to move food items from a typical storage containerto a microwavable dish prior to heating the food items in the microwaveoven. As another example, the food storage or cooking vessel(s) of FIGS.1A-13C may be able to vent during microwave cooking. As another example,the food storage or cooking vessel(s) of FIGS. 1A-13C may allow the fooditems to be visible through the top or sides of the food storage orcooking vessel, and preferably from both the sides and top of the foodstorage or cooking vessel. As a further example, the food storage orcooking vessel(s) of

FIGS. 1A-13C may be secure (e.g., it may be engagingly sealed), and maynot leak or allow food items to fall out when the food storage orcooking vessel is inverted.

FIGS. 1A-2 illustrate one example of a food storage or cooking vessel100. As is illustrated, the food storage or cooking vessel 100 comprisesa container 110 and a lid 200. The container 110 may be any type ofcontainer or vessel for holding, storing, and/or cooking (e.g., heating,cooling, etc.) a food item (e.g., solid food, liquid, etc.). Forexample, the container 110 may be a glass food storage or cookingcontainer that may store food (such as leftover food), and that mayfurther be used to re-heat the leftover food (e.g., in a microwave oven)while it is still stored in the container 110.

The container 110 includes a bottom 120. The bottom 120 may be the baseof the container 110, and may support the container 110 (e.g., hold itupright) when it is positioned on a surface. The bottom 120 may have anyshape. For example, an external surface 120 a of the bottom 120, aninternal surface 120 b of the bottom 120, or the entire bottom 120 maybe shaped as a circle, an oval, a square, a rectangle, a diamond, anirregular shape, any other shape, or any combination of the preceding.As is illustrated, the entire bottom 120 (and the container 110) isshaped as a circle (e.g., it has circular symmetry). The bottom 120 mayfurther have any size. For example, the bottom 120 may have any length(or diameter), and any thickness.

The bottom 120 may be oriented horizontally when the container 110 isresting on the bottom 120. In some examples, the bottom 120 may beoriented substantially horizontally (e.g., horizontal +/−5 degrees) whenthe container 110 is resting on the bottom 120. The external surface 120a and/or the internal surface 120 b of the bottom 120 may have anydegree of curvature and/or angle. For example, one (or both) of externalsurface 120 a and the internal surface 120 b may be flat, substantiallyflat (e.g., flat +/−5 degrees), convex, concave, or have any otherdegree of curvature and/or angle. As is illustrated, the externalsurface 120 a has a concave shape and the internal surface 120 b as aconvex shape, causing the bottom 120 to curve upwards from a horizontalplane.

The container 110 further includes an upward extending sidewall 130 thatis connected to and surrounds the bottom 120. The sidewall 130 extendsupward from the bottom 120 so as to form a fluid retaining interiorregion 190 of the container 110. The sidewall 130 may extend upward fromthe bottom 120 at any upward extending angle. For example, the sidewall130 may extend upward at or substantially at (e.g., +/−5 degrees) 90degrees, 85 degrees, 80 degrees, 70 degrees, 60 degrees, 45 degrees, 95degrees, 100 degrees, 110 degrees, 120 degrees, 135 degrees, any otherupward extending angle, or any angle (or range of angles) in-between 45degrees and 135 degrees.

The sidewall 130 may have an external surface 130 a that defines ahorizontally outermost portion of the sidewall 130, and an internalsurface 130 b that defines a horizontally innermost portion of thesidewall 130. The external surface 130 a and/or internal surface 130 bmay have any degree of curvature and/or angle. For example, one (orboth) of the external surface 130 a and the internal surface 130 b maybe flat, substantially flat (e.g., flat +/−5 degrees), convex, concave,or have any other degree of curvature and/or angle. As another example,one (or both) of the external surface 130 a and the internal surface 130b may be curved, such as by having a degree of curvature of orsubstantially of (e.g., +/−5 degrees) 60 degrees, 55 degrees, 50 degree,45 degrees, 40 degrees, 35 degrees, 30 degrees, any other degree ofcurvature, or any degree of curvature (or range of degrees of curvature)in-between 30 degrees and 60 degrees. The sidewall 130 may have anythickness.

The sidewall 130 may extend upward until it terminates at a rim 140 thatdefines an upper opening 150 of the container 110. This upper opening150 may allow food to be inserted into and/or removed from the fluidretaining interior region 190 of the container 110. The rim, upperopening 150, or the entire container 110 may be shaped as a circle, anoval, a square, a rectangle, a diamond, an irregular shape, any othershape, or any combination of the preceding.

As is illustrated, container 110 is shaped as a circle (e.g., it hascircular symmetry). The upper opening 150 may have any size. Forexample, the upper opening 150 may have any length (or diameter)in-between two opposing portions of the sidewall 130.

The rim 140 of the container 110 may be positioned at any verticaldistance from the bottom 120. For example, the rim 140 may be positionedat a vertical distance of or substantially of (e.g., +/−10%) 0.5 inchesfrom the bottom 120, 1 inch from the bottom 120, 2 inches from thebottom 120, 3 inches from the bottom 120, 5 inches from the bottom 120,6 inches from the bottom 120, 8 inches from the bottom 120, 10 inchesfrom the bottom 120, 12 inches from the bottom 120, 24 inches from thebottom 120, any other vertical distance from the bottom 120, or anyvertical distance (or range of vertical distances) in-between 0.5 inchesand 24 inches. The external surface 130 a of the sidewall 130 may definethe horizontally outermost surface of the rim 140, and the internalsurface 130 b of the sidewall 130 may define the horizontally innermostsurface of the rim 140.

The container 110 may be made of any material(s) that may allow a fooditem to be held, stored, and/or cooked (e.g., heating in a microwaveoven, cooled in a refrigerator, etc.) in the container 110. For example,the container 110 may be made of plastic, glass, ceramic glass (e.g.,opaque ceramic glass), pottery materials, non-metallic materials, anyother material that may allow a food item to be held, stored, and/orcooked in the container 110, or any combination of the preceding. As isillustrated, the container 110 is made of glass. The container 110 madeof glass may allow the food storage or cooking vessel 100 to be heatedin the microwave (i.e., the food items stored in the food storage orcooking vessel 100 may be heated in the microwave), in some examples.The container 110 made of glass (e.g., transparent glass) may also allowthe food items stored in the food storage or cooking vessel 100 to beviewed through the sidewall 130 of the container 110.

As is discussed above, the food storage or cooking vessel 100 furtherincludes a lid 200 that may be used to seal the container 110 and thefood storage or cooking vessel 100. This seal may prevent food itemsfrom spilling out of the fluid retaining interior region 190 of thecontainer 110. To seal the container 110, the lid 200 may be configuredto at least partially extend downward into the fluid retaining interiorregion 190 of the container 110 (e.g., it may extend downward past therim 140), and may be further configured to engagingly seal with theinternal surface 130 b of the sidewall 130 of the container 110. The lid200 may be removable, allowing the container 110 and food storage orcooking vessel 100 to be unsealed (e.g., for cleaning, to add food itemsto the food storage or cooking vessel 100).

As is illustrated, the lid 200 includes a central portion 210 that issurrounded by a gasket 220. The central portion 210 may have any shape.For example, an external surface 210 a of the central portion 210, aninternal surface 210 b of the central portion 210, or the entire centralportion 210 may be shaped as a circle, an oval, a square, a rectangle, adiamond, an irregular shape, any other shape, or any combination of thepreceding. As is illustrated, the central portion 210 (and the entirelid 200) is shaped as a circle (e.g., it has circular symmetry). Thecentral portion 210 may further have any size. For example, the centralportion 210 may have any length (or diameter), and any thickness.

The central portion 210 may be oriented horizontally when the lid 200 ispositioned on the container 110. In some examples, the central portion210 may be oriented substantially horizontally (e.g., horizontal +/−5degrees) when the lid 200 is positioned on the container 110. Theexternal surface 210 a and/or the internal surface 210 b of the centralportion 210 may have any degree of curvature and/or angle. For example,one (or both) of external surface 210 a and the internal surface 210 bmay be flat, substantially flat (e.g., flat +/−5 degrees), convex,concave, or have any other degree of curvature and/or angle. As isillustrated, the external surface 210 a and the internal surface 210 bare both flat, causing the central portion 210 to be planar.

The central portion 210 may be made of any material(s) that may allow afood item to be held, stored, and/or cooked (e.g., heating in amicrowave oven, cooled in a refrigerator, etc.) in the container 110with the lid 200 on. For example, the central portion 210 may be made ofplastic, glass, ceramic glass (e.g., opaque ceramic glass), potterymaterials, non-metallic materials, any other material that may allow afood item to be held, stored, and/or cooked in the container 110 withthe lid 200 on, or any combination of the preceding. As is illustrated,the central portion 210 is made of glass. The central portion 210 madeof glass may allow the food storage or cooking vessel 100 to be heatedin the microwave (i.e., the food items stored in the food storage orcooking vessel 100 may be heated in the microwave), in some examples.The central portion 210 made of glass (e.g., transparent glass) may alsoallow the food items stored in the food storage or cooking vessel 100 tobe viewed through the top of the lid 200 of the food storage or cookingvessel 100.

The lid further includes the gasket 220. The gasket 220 may be anydevice, element, or unit that may seal the junction between the centralportion 210 and the internal surface 130 b of the sidewall 130, therebysealing the container 100 and the food storage or cooking vessel 100.The gasket 220 may have any shape and/or size. For example, the gasket220 may be ring-shaped (i.e., annular), allowing the gasket 220 tosurround the central portion 210 along the entire horizontal perimeterof the central portion 210. Furthermore, the annular shape of the gasket220 is not limited to a circle. Instead, the annular shape may includean annular circle, oval, square, rectangle, diamond, irregular shape,any other shape, or any combination of the preceding. Furthermore, theannular shape may include one or more elliptical segments, curvilinearsegments, non-curvilinear segments, a combination of curvilinear andnon-curvilinear segments, or any combination of the preceding. This mayallow the gasket 220 to fit any shaped container 110, such as an ovalcontainer 110 or a container 110 with a straight sides and roundedcorners. Notwithstanding the alternative shapes of the gasket 220, thegasket 220 should be shaped in coordination with the shape of thesidewall 130 taking into consideration the stiffness of the gasketsub-components so the gasket outer side 223 a flexes to sealingly engagewith the internal surface 130 b. This flexure range should accommodatepossible manufacturing variances of the vessel 100, lid 200 and gasket220 that irrespective of how the lid 200 is centered with respect to therim 140, the gasket outer side 223 a will still make contact with theinternal surface 130 b. These variances can be accommodated by theability of the flexible skirt 224 and the outer side 223 a to deform.

The gasket 220 may be made of any material(s) that allows the gasket 220to seal the junction between the central portion 210 and the internalsurface 130 b of the sidewall 130, thereby sealing the container 110 andthe food storage or cooking vessel 100. For example, the gasket 220 maybe made of rubber, a polymer, an elastomer (e.g., silicone,fluorosilicone, etc.), any other material that allows the gasket 220 toseal the junction between the central portion 210 and the internalsurface 130 b of the sidewall 130 (thereby sealing the food storage orcooking vessel 100), or any combination of the preceding.

As is illustrated in FIG. 1B, the gasket 220 includes an upper portion221, a vertical portion 223, and a flexible skirt 224. The upper portion221 is configured to couple the gasket 220 to the central portion 210.The upper portion 221 may be configured to couple the gasket 220 to thecentral portion 210 in any manner. For example, the upper portion 221may include an adhesive that couples the gasket 220 to the centralportion 210. As another example, and as is illustrated, the upperportion 221 may include an inner groove 222 (e.g., an innercircumferential lateral groove) that may receive an outer peripheralregion 210 a (shown in FIG. 2 ) of the central portion 210. This innergroove 222 may hold the outer peripheral region 210 a, thereby couplingthe gasket 220 to the central portion 210. As a further example, theupper portion 221 may include an outer peripheral region that isreceived into an inner groove in the central portion 210 (i.e., thereverse of the example described above). The upper portion 221 mayinclude an external edge 221 a that defines the horizontally outermostportion of the upper portion 221.

The upper portion 221 may have any size and/or shape. For example, theupper portion 221 may have a thickness (or other dimension) that causesthe external edge 221 a of the upper portion 221 to extend horizontallyoutward past the internal surface 130 b of the sidewall 130. In otherexamples, the upper portion 221 may have a thickness (or otherdimension) that causes the external edge 221 a of the upper portion 221to extend horizontally outward past the external surface 130 a of thesidewall 130. By extending horizontally outward past the internalsurface 130 b and/or the external surface 130 b, the size of the upperportion 221 may assist in preventing the gasket 220 (and lid 200) frombeing pushed entirely within the fluid retaining interior region 190 ofthe container 110.

The gasket 220 further includes the vertical portion 223. The verticalportion 223 of the gasket 220 descends downward from the upper portion221 of the gasket 220. The vertical portion 223 may descend downwardfrom the upper portion 221 by a distance 225. The distance 225 may beany length, such as or substantially (e.g., +/−10%) 0.05 inches, 0.1inches, 0.2 inches, 0.3 inches, 0.5 inches, 0.75 inches, 1 inch, 1.5inches, 2 inches, 3 inches, any other length, or any length (or range oflengths) in-between 0.05 inches and 3 inches.

The vertical portion 223 includes an outer side 223 a that defines thehorizontally outermost portion of the vertical portion 223. The outerside 223 a of the vertical portion 223 may be positioned inward (or beinset) from the external edge 221 a of the upper portion 221 of thegasket 220. This may allow the vertical portion 223 and the flexibleskirt 224 to fit within the fluid retaining interior region 190 of thecontainer 110, while the upper portion 221 or a portion of the upperportion 221 remains outside of the fluid retaining interior region 190of the container 110. Such positioning may allow the gasket 220 to sealthe junction between the central portion 210 and the internal surface130 b of the sidewall 130, thereby sealing the food storage or cookingvessel 100. The inward positioning of the vertical portion 223 inrelation to the external edge 221 a is illustrated as distance 226. Thedistance 226 may be any length, such as or substantially (e.g., +/−10%)0.05 inches, 0.1 inches, 0.2 inches, 0.3 inches, 0.5 inches, 0.75inches, 1 inch, 1.5 inches, any other length, or any length (or range oflengths) in-between 0.05 inches and 1.5 inches.

The vertical portion 223 may descend downward from the upper portion 221at an angle 227. The angle 227 may be any angle that allows the outerside 223 a of the vertical portion 223 to be positioned inward (or beinset) from the external edge 221 a of the upper portion 221 of thegasket 220. For example, the angle 227 may be or may be substantially(e.g., +/−10%) 90 degrees, 85 degrees, 80 degrees, 75 degrees, 95degrees, 100 degrees, 105 degrees, any other angle that allows the outerside 223 a to be positioned inward from the external edge 221 a, or anyangle (or range of angles) in-between 75 degrees and 105 degrees.

As is further illustrated, the gasket 220 also includes the flexibleskirt 224. The flexible skirt 224 extends horizontally outward from theouter side 223 a of the vertical portion 223. This extension causes theflexible skirt 224 to contact (and/or press against) the internalsurface 130 b of the sidewall 130. This contact allows the gasket 220(and lid 200) to engagingly seal with the internal surface 130 b of thesidewall 130 of the container 110.

The flexible skirt 224 may be configured so that at least a portion ofthe flexible skirt 224 may flex (or otherwise move) upward and downward.This flexibility may cause this portion of the flexible skirt 224 to bemoved upwards by the internal surface 130 b of the sidewall 130 of thecontainer 110 (via friction and/or pressure) when the lid 200 ispositioned on the container 110 (and the vertical portion 223 andvertical skirt 224 are positioned within the fluid retaining interiorregion 190 of the container 110). An example of this upward movement isillustrated in FIG. 1B, where the flexible skirt 224 is moved from anun-deformed state (shown in broken lines) to an upward deformed state(shown in solid lines). Furthermore, when the lid 200 is removed fromthe container 110, the portion of the flexible skirt 224 may movedownwards once again to the un-deformed state (shown in broken lines).

The flexible skirt 224 may be configured in any way so as to allow theportion of the flexible skirt 224 to flex (or otherwise move) upward anddownward. For example, the flexible skirt 224 may have any thickness (orother dimension) that allows such flexing. As another example, thematerial(s) of the gasket 220 and the flexible skirt 224 (e.g., arubber, a polymer, an elastomer, as is discussed above) may allow (orcontribute to allowing) such flexing.

The flexible skirt 224 may have any size and/or shape that allows is tocontact (and/or press against) the internal surface 130 b of thesidewall 130, so as to engagingly seal with the internal surface 130 bof the sidewall 130 of the container 110. For example, the flexibleskirt 224 may extend horizontally outward in a horizontal plane (i.e.,it may be flat) in its un-deformed state. As a preferable example, theflexible skirt 224 may have an upward curvature in its un-deformedstate. This upward curvature (shown in the broken lines in FIG. 1B)provides an inherent tendency to further curl upward (shown in the solidlines in FIG. 1B) as it contacts the internal surface 130 b of thesidewall 130 of the container 110. As another example, the flexibleskirt 224 may have a downward curvature in its un-deformed state.Further details regarding example shapes of the flexible skirt 224 areillustrated in FIGS. 10A-10D.

In its un-deformed state (shown in the broken lines in FIG. 1B), theflexible skirt 224 may curve upwards or downwards by any amount thatallows it to contact (and/or press against) the internal surface 130 bof the sidewall 130. For example, the curve may create an arc that has acentral angle 228 (shown in FIG. 2 ) of or of substantially (e.g.,+/−10%) 45 degrees, 50 degrees, 60 degrees, 70 degrees, 75 degrees, 80degrees, 90 degrees, 100 degrees, 110 degrees, 120 degrees 130 degrees,135 degrees, 140 degrees, 150 degrees, any other angle that allows theflexible skirt 224 to contact (and/or press against) the internalsurface 130 b of the sidewall 130, or any angle (or range of angles)in-between 45 degrees and 150 degrees.

The lid 200 further includes a lid rim 250. The lid rim 250 may be anydevice, element, or unit that may be coupled to the gasket 220 and/orthe central portion 210 to as to provide an outer surface or edge to thegasket 220, central portion 210, and/or the lid 200. As is illustratedin FIG. 1B, the lid rim 250 may extend around the upper portion 221 ofthe gasket 220. For example, a top surface 250 b of the lid rim 250 maybe positioned on a top surface 221 b of the upper portion 221, a bottomsurface 250 c of the lid rim 250 may be positioned on a bottom surface221 c of the upper portion 221, and an external edge 250 a of the lidrim 250 may be poisoned on the external edge 221 a of the upper portion221. This may cause the lid rim 250 to surround all or a portion of theexterior surface of the upper portion 221 of the gasket 220. Theexternal edge 250 a of the lid rim 250 may define the horizontallyoutermost portion of the lid rim 250.

The lid rim 250 may apply pressure to portions of the lid 200. Forexample, the lid rim 250 may apply a substantially downward pressure onthe top surface 221 b of the upper portion 221 (and further on a topside of the outer peripheral region 210 a of the central portion 210),and may further apply a substantially upward pressure on the bottomsurface 221 c of the upper portion 221 (and further on a bottom side ofthe outer peripheral region 210 a of the central portion 210), in someexamples. This may assist in coupling the gasket 220 to the centralportion 210 by, for example, further squeezing or clamping the upperportion 221 (and the inner groove 222 in the upper portion 221) onto theouter peripheral region 210 a of the central portion 210. As anotherexample, the lid rim 250 may apply a substantially horizontal pressureon the external edge 221 a of the upper portion 221 of the gasket 220,so as to squeeze (or otherwise apply pressure to) opposing sides of theexternal edge 221 a together (e.g., and squeeze them against the centralportion 210 positioned in-between the opposing sides). This may urge theinner groove 222 in the upper portion 221 into a further sealedengagement with the outer peripheral region 210 a of the central portion210 (and/or vice versa, by urging outer peripheral region 210 a of thecentral portion 210 into a further sealed engagement with the innergroove 222 in the upper portion 221). For example, it may urge the outerperipheral region 210 a of the central portion 210 further into positionwithin the inner groove 222 of the upper portion 211 (e.g., by furtherpressing the outermost horizontal edge of the inner groove 222 againstthe outside perimeter of the outer peripheral region 210 a of thecentral portion 210),

The lid rim 250 may provide support to the gasket 220, in some examples.For example, the lid rim 250 may stiffen the material(s) of the gasket220 in the proximity of the lid rim 250. As an example of this, the lidrim 250 may squeeze portions of the upper portion 221, causing the upperportion 221 to stiffen (as it is bunched together by the lid rim 250).This may allow the gasket 220 to be made of a very soft and pliablematerial (to enhance the deformability of the flexible skirt 224), whilealso allowing the upper portion 221 to be sufficiently hard and lesspliable so as to prevent the gasket 220 (and the lid 200) from beingpushed entirely within the fluid retaining interior region 190 of thecontainer 110 when the lid 200 is positioned tightly on the container110.

The lid rim 250 may be made of any material(s) that may allow the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100 to be used to hold, store, and/or cook afood item. For example, the lid rim 250 may be made of any material(s)that may allow the food storage or cooking vessel 100 to be positionedwithin a microwave oven while the microwave oven is heating the fooditem held in the container 110 of the food storage or cooking vessel100. As an example of this, the lid rim 250 may be made of plastic,glass, pottery materials, non-metallic materials, metallic materials,any other material that may allow the food storage or cooking vessel 100to be used to hold, store, and/or cook a food item, or any combinationof the preceding. In a preferable example, the lid rim 250 is made ofmetal or stainless steel. The use of a lid rim 250 being made of a thincurved metal sheet (or other metal member) may allow the food storage orcooking vessel 100 to be heated in the microwave oven, as it may preventarcing in a microwave oven, in some examples.

Furthermore, in a preferable example, the material of the lid rim 250may be a smooth material, such as metal. As such, when the gasket 220 isin contact with the internal surface 130 b of the sidewall 130 (therebyproviding a seal), the contact of the smooth material (e.g., metal) ofthe bottom surface 250 c of the lid rim 250 with the rim 140 of thecontainer 110 (e.g., made of glass) may provide additional sealing, insome examples. Furthermore, it may also render the sealed food storageor cooking vessel 100 generally air tight for the food storage orcooking of foods in cabinets or in refrigerators.

The lid rim 250 may have any size and/or shape. For example, as isdiscussed above, the lid rim 250 may be a thin sheet of metal that may,in some examples, be sized to surround all or a portion of the exteriorsurface of the upper portion 221 of the gasket 220. In some examples,the lid rim 250 may have a thickness (or other dimension) that causesthe external edge 250 a of the lid rim 250 to extend horizontallyoutward past the internal surface 130 b of the sidewall 130. In otherexamples, the lid rim 250 may have a thickness (or other dimension) thatcauses the external edge 250 a of the lid rim 250 to extend horizontallyoutward past the external surface 130 a of the sidewall 130. Byextending horizontally outward past the internal surface 130 b and/orthe external surface 130 a, the size of the lid rim 250 may assist inpreventing the gasket 220 (and lid 200) from being pushed entirelywithin the fluid retaining interior region 190 of the container 110.Hence, when the lid 200 is placed in the opening 150 to close or sealthe container 110 and food storage or cooking vessel 100, the lid rim250 may extend beyond the first rim 140 to limit the verticaldisplacement of the gasket 220 into the upper opening 150 such that theflexible skirt 224 sealingly engages the internal surface 130 b of thesidewall 130. This limit on vertical displacement of the gasket 220 maycause a portion of the gasket 220 (e.g., the upper portion 221, aportion of the upper portion 221) to remain vertically above the rim 140of the container 110 even when the lid 200 is sealing the food storageor cooking vessel 100.

The lid rim 250 may be ring-shaped (i.e., annular), allowing the lid rim250 to surround the upper portion 221 of the gasket 220 along the entirehorizontal perimeter (i.e., the entire external edge 221 a of the upperportion 221 of the gasket 220). Furthermore, the annular shape of thelid rim 250 is not limited to a circle. Instead, the annular shape mayinclude an annular circle, oval, square, rectangle, diamond, irregularshape, any other shape, or any combination of the preceding.Furthermore, the annular shape may include one or more ellipticalsegments, curvilinear segments, non-curvilinear segments, a combinationof curvilinear and non-curvilinear segments, or any combination of thepreceding. This may allow the lid rim 250 to fit any shaped gasket 220and container 110, such as an oval gasket 220 and container 110 or agasket 220 and container 110 with a straight sides and rounded corners.As is illustrated, the lid rim 250, the gasket 220, the central portion210, the lid 200, and the container 110 are shaped as a circle.Notwithstanding the alternative shapes of the lid 200 and lid rim 250,when the lid rim 250 is made of metal and the container 110 is intendedfor use in a microwave oven, the lid rim 250 should not have any sharpcorners, but should have a radius of curvature greater than severalmillimeters, but more preferably at least a centimeter or severalcentimeters.

The lid rim 250 may include an upper inner periphery 251 that extendshorizontally inward past the top surface 221 b of the upper portion 221(towards the central portion 210), and that also extends downward so asto contact the central portion 210. This may minimize the potential forentry of contamination in the inner groove 222 of the gasket 220, insome examples. In a preferable example, the upper inner periphery 251 isfolded over itself, as is illustrated in FIGS. 1B and 2 . This may causethe curved portion of the fold to be in contact with the central portion210, in some examples.

Modifications, additions, and/or substitutions may be made to the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100 of FIGS. 1A-2 without departing from thescope of the specification. For example, although the lid 200 of thefood storage or cooking vessel 100 is described above as including a lidrim 250, in some examples, the lid 200 may not include a lid rim 250.

FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate another example of the lid 200 of the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100. The lid 200 of FIGS. 3A-3C may besubstantially similar to the lid 200 of FIGS. 1A-2 . However, the gasket220 of the lid 200 of FIGS. 3A-3C may further include one or morebumpers 260 and one or more apertures 229. Also, the lid 200 of FIGS.3A-3B may be positioned on (or otherwise used with) a container 110 thatis substantially similar to the container 110 of FIGS. 1A-2 .

As is illustrated, the gasket 220 may include one or more bumpers 260.The bumper 260 may assist in centering the lid 200 on the container 110.For example, as the lid 200 is being positioned on the container 110,the bumper(s) 260 may bump or rub against the internal surface 130 b ofthe sidewall 130 of the container 110. This bumping or rubbing of thebumpers 260 on opposing sides the internal surface 130 b of the sidewall130 may signify to the user that the lid 200 is properly centered on thecontainer 110. As such, using guidance provided by the bumpers 260, theuser may be able to more easily move the lid 200 downward with thecentral portion 210 in a plane that is parallel to the plan defined bythe rim 140.

In some examples, the bumper(s) 260 may be helpful because the flexibleskirt 224's flexible nature may prevent it from properly signaling tothe user that the lid 200 is properly centered on the container 110.Instead, without the bumpers 260, the user may have improperlypositioned the lid 200 in a location that causes a first portion of theflexible skirt 224 to be too close to the internal surface 130 b, whilean opposing portion of the flexible skirt 224 is too far from theinternal surface 130 b (thereby providing an ineffective seal).

The bumper 260 may be any structure positioned on the gasket 220 thatmay assist in centering the lid 200 on the container 110. For example,the bumper 260 may be bump (or other piece of material) in the profileof the gasket 220, a lip protruding downward from the upper portion 221of the gasket 220, any other structure positioned on the gasket 220 thatmay assist in centering the lid 200 on the container 110, or anycombination of the preceding. As is illustrated, the bump 260 is a bump(or other piece of material) in the profile of the gasket 220.

The bumper 260 may be positioned on any portion of the gasket 220 thatallows it to assist in centering the lid 200 on the container 110. Forexample, the bumper 260 may be positioned on the upper portion 221 ofthe gasket 220 (e.g., as a lip that extends downward from the bottomsurface 221 c of the upper portion 221), positioned on the verticalportion 223 of the gasket 220 (e.g., a bump that extends horizontallyoutward from the outer side 223 a of the vertical portion 223),positioned on both the upper portion 221 and the vertical portion 223 ofthe gasket 220 (e.g., a bump that extends downward from the bottomsurface 221 c and that further extends horizontally outward from theouter side 223 a of the vertical portion 223, as is illustrated in FIGS.3A-3C), positioned on any other portion of the gasket 220 that allowsthe bumper 260 to assist in centering the lid 200 on the container 110,or any combination of the preceding.

The bumper 260 may have any size and/or shape (and/or positioning) thatallows it to assist in centering the lid 200 on the container 110. Forexample, the bumper 260 may be sized so that its horizontally outermostsurface is located inward (or is inset) from the external edge 221 a ofthe upper portion 221 of the gasket 220. This location of thehorizontally outermost surface may allow the bumper 260 to fit withinthe fluid retaining interior region 190 of the container 110, while theupper portion 221 or a portion of the upper portion 221 remains outsideof the fluid retaining interior region 190 of the container 110.

As another example, the bumper 260 may be sized so that its horizontallyoutermost surface is located inward (or is inset) from the horizontallyoutermost portion of the flexible skirt 224. This may allow the bumper260 to assist in centering the lid 200 on the container 110, without thebumper 260 being configured to flex upward and downward (as the lid 200is positioned on the container 110). As another example, the bumper 260may be sized so that (when the lid 200 is positioned on the container100) the bumper 260′s horizontally outermost surface is located at orslightly inward of the internal surface 130 b of the sidewall 130. Insome examples, the horizontal distance between the horizontallyoutermost surface of the bumper 260 and the internal surface 130 b ofthe sidewall (when the lid 200 is positioned on the container 110 toseal the food storage or cooking vessel 100) may be or may besubstantially (e.g., +/−10%), for example, 0 millimeters, 0.1millimeters, 0.25 millimeters, 0.5 millimeters, 1 millimeter, 1.5millimeters, 2 millimeters, any other distance that allows the bumper260 to assist in centering the lid 200 on the container 110, or anydistance (or range of distances) in-between 0 millimeters and 2millimeters.

The gasket 220 may include any number of bumpers 260. For example, thegasket 220 may include 2 or more bumpers 260, but preferably to 4 to 6bumpers 260. It may be desirable to have more than 6 bumpers dependingon the circumference of the lid and rim, but a uniform radial spacing ofbetween 30 to 90 degrees between bumpers 260 is sufficient to aid incentering, without unduly increasing molding complexity and the chancefor manufacturing imperfections. The bumpers 260 may be spaced apart(e.g., radially spaced apart) from each other along the gasket 220. Forexample, each bumper 260 may be spaced apart from any other bumper 260along the outside perimeter of the gasket 220 (e.g., along the perimetercreated by the external edge 221 a of the upper portion 221) by orsubstantially by (e.g., +/−10%) 0.25 inches, 0.5 inches, 1 inch, 1.5inches, 2 inches, 3 inches, 5 inches, or any distance (or range ofdistances) in-between 0.25 inches and 5 inches.

As is also illustrated, the gasket 220 may include one or more apertures229. The aperture(s) 229 may allow air to vent out of the fluidretaining interior region 190 of the container 110 when the lid 200 issealing the container 110 and the food storage or cooking vessel 100.For example, the aperture(s) 229 may vent air out of the container 110through one or more locations positioned in-between the vertical portion223 of the gasket 220 and the internal surface 130 b of the sidewall.This may allow the food storage or cooking vessel 100 to be moresecurely sealed because the venting may prevent air from being trappedand compressed in the fluid retaining interior region 190 during the lidclosing process. This may be helpful, as compressed air in the fluidretaining interior region 190 could urge the lid 200 upward and couldslowly defeat the sealing provide by the gasket 220, in some examples.

Furthermore, when the food storage or cooking vessel 100 is heated in amicrowave oven, the steam and/or hot air generated may gradually ventthrough the aperture(s) 229 (and may vent to and/or through the locationwhere the lid rim 250 contacts the rim 140 of the container 110). Thisventing of the steam and/or hot air may prevent the lid 200 from beingexplosively ejected from the top of the container 110, in some examples.

The aperture 229 may be any venting structure positioned on the gasket220 that may allow air to vent out of the fluid retaining interiorregion 190 when the lid 200 is positioned on the container 110 (therebysealing the food storage or cooking vessel 100). For example, as isillustrated, the aperture 229 may be a hole (or other aperture) in thegasket 220.

The aperture 229 may be positioned on any portion of the gasket 220 thatallows it to allow air to vent out of the fluid retaining interiorregion 190 of the container 110 when the lid 200 is sealing the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100. For example, the aperture 229 may bepositioned in the vertical portion 223, in the flexible skirt 224, anyother portion of the gasket 220 that allows it to allow air to vent outof the fluid retaining interior region 190 of the container 110 when thelid 200 is sealing the food storage or cooking vessel 100, or anycombination of the preceding. As is illustrated, the aperture 229 ispositioned in the flexible skirt 224. In some examples, the aperture 229may be positioned in the flexible skirt 224 in a location adjacent(e.g., within or substantially within 0.5 inches, 0.3 inches, 0.1inches, 2 millimeters) of the location where the flexible skirt 224connects to the outer side 223 a of the vertical portion 223. Suchpositioning may prevent the aperture 229 from being blocked orobstructed by the flexible skirt 224 when it is moved upward by theinternal surface 130 b of the sidewall 130.

The aperture 229 may have any size and/or shape for allowing air to ventout of the fluid retaining interior region 190 of the container 110 whenthe lid 200 is sealing the food storage or cooking vessel 100. Forexample, the aperture 229 may be shaped as a circle, an oval, a square,a rectangle, a diamond, an irregular shape, any other shape, or anycombination of the preceding. As another example, the aperture 229 mayhave a diameter of or substantially (e.g., +/−10%) 1 millimeter togenerally less than about 5 millimeters. The larger the apertures 229,the more easily fluid can leak through them. While no physical aperturescan be fluid tight, capillary forces minimize fluid leakage when theapertures are smaller rather than larger.

The aperture 229 may be formed in any manner on the gasket 220 forallowing air to vent out of the fluid retaining interior region 190 ofthe container 110 when the lid 200 is sealing the food storage orcooking vessel 100. For example, the aperture 229 may be formed integralwith the gasket 220. In such an example, a mold used to form the gasket220 may include protrusions that also form the aperture(s) 229. Asanother example, the aperture 229 may be formed subsequent to theforming of the gasket 200. In such an example, the apertures 229 may bepoked through the thickness in the gasket 200 by, for example, amachine.

The gasket 220 may include any number of apertures 229. For example, thegasket 220 may preferably include from about 2 to 8 apertures 229, butmore or less apertures 229 can be deployed depending on aperture size sothat steam or hot air can flow outward during microwave cooking tominimize the build of internal pressure. If the apertures 229 can bereproducibly made smaller than 1 mm, many more can be used, with theintent to provide the same effective cross section for hot gas or steamto escape. Other embodiments discussed further on do not requireapertures 229. The apertures 229 may be spaced apart (e.g., tangentiallyspaced apart) from each other along the gasket 220. For example, eachaperture 229 may be spaced apart from any other aperture 229 along theperimeter created by the flexible skirt 224 by or substantially by(e.g., +/−10%) 1 millimeter, 2 millimeters, 0.1 inch, 0.25 inches, 0.5inches, 1 inch, 1.5 inches, 2 inches, 3 inches, 5 inches, or anydistance (or range of distances) in-between 1 millimeter and 5 inches.

Modifications, additions, and/or substitutions may be made to the lid200 of FIGS. 3A-3C without departing from the scope of thespecification. For example, although the lid 200 is described above asincluding both bumper(s) 260 and aperture(s) 229, the lid 200 mayinclude only bumper(s) 260, only aperture(s) 229, or neither bumper(s)260 nor aperture(s) 229.

FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate another example of the container 110 and the lid200 of the food storage or cooking vessel 100. The container 110 ofFIGS. 4A-4B may be substantially similar to the container 110 of FIGS.1A-2 and/or FIGS. 3A-3C. However, the container 110 of FIGS. 4A-4B mayfurther include one or more indentations 131. The lid 200 of FIGS. 4A-4Bmay be substantially similar to the lid 200 of FIGS. 1A-2 and/or FIGS.3A-3C. However, the lid rim 250 of the lid 200 may have a differentshape. This shape of the lid rim 250 and the indentation(s) 131 mayfacilitate the removal of the lid 200 from the container 110.

As is illustrated, the external surface 130 a of the sidewall 130 of thecontainer 110 may include one or more indentations 131 that extendupward to the rim 140 of the container 110. The indentation(s) 131 mayprovide a space into which a user may insert one or more fingers (orfingertips or other objects), so that the fingers (or other objects) maybe positioned underneath a portion of the lid rim 250. This positioningmay allow the user to more easily urge the lid frame 250 upward and moreeasily release the gasket 220 from its sealed engagement with theinternal surface 130 b of the sidewall 130 of the container 110, therebyopening the food storage or cooking vessel 100. The contents of thecontainer 110 may then be poured out of (or otherwise removed) from thecontainer 110 through the upper opening 150.

The indentation 131 may have any size and/or shape (and/or positioning)that provides a space into which a user may insert one or more fingers(or fingertips or other objects). For example, the indentation 131 mayhave a depth that causes the external edge 250 a of the lid rim 250 toextend horizontally outward past the external surface 130 a (with theindentation 131) of the sidewall 130 by or substantially by (e.g.,+/−10%) 2 millimeters, 0.1 inch, 0.2 inches, 0.25 inches, 0.3 inches,0.4 inches, 0.5 inches, 0.6 inches, 0.75 inches, 0.8 inches, 0.9 inches,1 inch, 1.5 inches, or any distance (or range of distances) in-between 2millimeters and 1.5 inches. As another example, the indentation 131 mayhave a width (or length) along the perimeter of the external surface 130a that allows one or more fingers (e.g., one finger, two fingers, fourfingers) to fit in the indentation 131. As an example of this, theindentation 131 may have a width (or length) along the perimeter of theexternal surface 130 a of or substantially of (e.g., +/−10%) 0.5 inches,1 inch, 1.5 inches, 2 inches, 2.5 inches, 3 inches, 3.5 inches, 4inches, 5 inches, the entire perimeter of the external surface 130 a, orany distance (or range of distances) in-between 0.5 inches and theentire perimeter of the external surface 130 a. As is illustrated, theexternal surface 130 a of FIGS. 4A-4B includes a single indentation 131that extends around the entire perimeter of the external surface 130 a(i.e., it has a width equal to the entire perimeter of the externalsurface 130 a).

The external surface 130 a may include any number of indentations 131.For example, the external surface 130 a may include 1 indentation 131, 2indentations 131, 3 indentations 131, 4 indentations 131, 8 indentations131, 10 indentations 131, 20 indentations 131, any other number ofindentations 131, or any number of indentations 131 (or range ofindentations 131) in-between 1 indentation 131 and 20 indentations 131.As is illustrated, the external surface 130 a of FIGS. 4A-4B includes asingle indentation 131 that extends around the entire perimeter of theexternal surface 130 a.

When the external surface 130 a includes multiple indentations 131(e.g., four indentations 131, with one indentation 131 on each side of asquare container 110), the indentations 131 may be spaced apart fromeach other along the external surface 130 a. For example, eachindentation 131 may be spaced apart from any other indentations 131along the perimeter of the external surface 130 a by or substantially by(e.g., +/−10%) 0.5 inches, 1 inch, 2 inches, 3 inches, 4 inches, 5inches, 6 inches, 10 inches, or any distance (or range of distances)in-between 0.5 inches and 10 inches. In some examples, the externalsurface 130 a may include one or more indentations 131 per side of thecontainer 110. For example, if the container 110 is square (orsubstantially square), the external surface 130 a may include a singleindentation 131 per side of the square (for a total of 4 indentations131). These indentations 131 may be positioned in the center (or middle)of each side, for example.

As is discussed above, the lid rim 250 of FIGS. 4A-4B may have adifferent shape than the lid rim 250 of FIGS. 1A-3 . As is illustrated,the lid rim 250 (e.g., a thin ring-shaped sheet of metal) may includethe external edge 250 a positioned on (or over) the external edge 221 aof the upper portion 221 of the gasket 220, the top surface 250 bpositioned on (or over) the top surface 221 b of the upper portion 221of the gasket 220, and the bottom surface 250 c positioned on (or over)the bottom surface 221 c of the upper portion 221 of the gasket 220.This may cause the lid rim 250 to surround all or a portion of theexterior surface of the upper portion 221 of the gasket 220.

Similar to the lid frame 250 of FIGS. 1A-3 , the top surface 250 b ofthe lid frame 250 of FIGS. 4A-4B may include the upper inner periphery251 that extends horizontally inward past the top surface 221 b of theupper portion 221 (towards the central portion 210), and that alsoextends downward so as to contact the central portion 210. The upperinner periphery 251 of FIGS. 4A-4B may be loosely folded over itself toprovide a rounded upper edge 254. This rounded upper edge 254 mayapproach and contact the central portion 210. Furthermore, the roundedupper edge 254 may further cause the entire top surface 250 b to have arounded profile. In some examples, this rounded profile may cause aportion of the top surface 250 b to extend over the top surface 221 b ofthe upper portion 221 of the gasket 220, without always being in contactwith it. This is seen by the gap between the top surface 221 b and thetop surface 250 b in FIG. 4B.

The bottom surface 250 c of the lid frame 250 of FIGS. 4A-4B may have arounded lower edge 252. All or a portion of this rounded lower edge 252may extend horizontally outward past the external surface 130 a in thelocation of an indentation 131, as is illustrated. By extending past theexternal surface 130 a, the lid frame 250 may have a more comfortablerounded edge that can be used by a user to lift the lid 200 off thecontainer 110. In some examples, this rounded lower edge 252 may cause aportion of the bottom surface 250 c to extend over the bottom surface221 c of the upper portion 221 of the gasket 220, without always beingin contact with it. This is seen by the gap between the bottom surface250 c and the bottom surface 221 c in FIG. 4B. The rounded lower edge252 may have a depth, D, illustrated in FIG. 4B, that is the same as thedepth (or thickness) of the gasket 220 in-between the external edge 221a and the start of the inner groove 222, as is also illustrated in FIG.4B.

The upper portion 221 of the gasket 220 may be secured within a regionthat is adjacent to and in-between the rounded lower edge 252 and therounded upper edge 254. In some examples, the lid frame 250 may stiffenthe material of the gasket 220 in the proximity of the lid rim 250, asis discussed above. This may allow the central portion 210 to remain inthe inner groove 222 when the lid 200 is lifted, in some examples.Furthermore, it may allow the flexible skirt 224 to be soft and pliablefor readily wetting and sealing to the internal surface 130 b of thesidewall 130 of the container 110, while the lid frame 250 stiffens theupper portion 221 of the gasket 200.

It should be appreciated that to lift the lid 200 off of the container110, the user may insert at least one fingertip under the rounded loweredge 252 at the indentation(s) 131. It should also be appreciated thatthe user may insert at least one fingertip under the rounded lower edge252 by grasping the lid 200 from above, or by pushing from below thecontainer 110.

Modifications, additions, and/or substitutions may be made to the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100 of FIGS. 4A-4B without departing from thescope of the specification. For example, although the food storage orcooking vessel 100 is described above as including each ofindentation(s) 131, a rounded lower edge 252, and a rounded upper edge254, in some examples the food storage or cooking vessel 100 may includeonly indentation(s) 131, only a rounded lower edge 252, only a roundedupper edge 254, only two of the previous three features, or none of theprevious three features.

FIGS. 5A-9 illustrate another example of the container 110 and the lid200 of the food storage or cooking vessel 100. The container 110 ofFIGS. 5A-9 may be substantially similar to the container 110 of FIGS.1A-2 , FIGS. 3A-3C, and/or FIGS. 4A-4B. The lid 200 of FIGS. 5A-9 may besubstantially similar to the lid 200 of FIGS. 1A-2 , FIGS. 3A-3C, and/orFIGS. 4A-4B. However, the central portion 210 of FIGS. 5A-9 may furtherinclude one or more valves 300 which may selectively allow air to ventout of the fluid retaining interior region 190 of the container 110 whenthe lid 200 is sealing the container 110 and the food storage or cookingvessel 100.

The valve(s) 300 may allow the food storage or cooking vessel 100 to bemore securely sealed because the venting may prevent air from beingtrapped and compressed in the fluid retaining interior region 190 duringthe lid closing process. For example, if the valve 300 is open (i.e.,venting air) when the food storage or cooking vessel 100 is beingsealed, the lid 200 can be urged downward as air in the container 110 isvented through the valve 300. This may be helpful, as compressed air inthe fluid retaining interior region 190 could prevent the food storageor cooking vessel 100 from being sealed at all, or could urge the lid200 upward and slowly defeat the sealing provide by the gasket 220, insome examples. As such, this venting by the valve(s) 300 may allow theflexible skirt 224 of the gasket 220 to seal with the internal surface130 b of the sidewall 130 (below the rim 140). Also, after the lid 200is positioned on the container 110, and the food storage or cookingvessel 100 is fully sealed, the valve 300 may then be closed.Furthermore, when the food storage or cooking vessel 100 is heated in amicrowave oven with the valve(s) 300 open, the steam and/or hot airgenerated will gradually vent through the valve(s) 300.

This venting of the steam and/or hot air may prevent the lid 200 frombeing explosively ejected from the top of the container 110.

In some examples, the use of valve(s) 300 in the lid 200 may allow airto be vented even when the gasket 220 does not include any apertures229. As such, the valve(s) 300 may be included in the food storage orcooking vessel 100 without any apertures 229. In other examples, boththe valve(s) 300 and the aperture(s) 229 may be included in the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100. In some examples, if the lid 200 does notinclude either aperture(s) 229 or valve(s) 300 (or if the valves 300 areclosed), the compression of trapped air may prevent the sealing of thefood storage or cooking vessel 100, as the compression of trapped airmay resist the full insertion of the flexible skirt 224 below the rim140 of the container 110. In other examples, the food storage or cookingvessel 100 may still be able to vent some of this air even if the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100 does not include aperture(s) 229 orvalve(s) 300. Furthermore, in other examples, the food storage orcooking vessel 100 may still be able to be properly sealed even if thefood storage or cooking vessel 100 does not include aperture(s) 229 orvalve(s) 300. As such, the food storage or cooking vessel 100 may notinclude either aperture(s) 229 or valve(s) 300, in some examples.

As is illustrated, the food storage or cooking vessel 100 of FIGS. 5A-9includes one or more valves 300. The valve 300 may include any device,element, or unit that may selectively allow air to vent out of the fluidretaining interior region 190 through the central portion 210, and thatmay also selectively prevent air from venting out of the fluid retaininginterior region 190 through the central portion 210. For example, thevalve 300 may be a hole and plug combination, a sliding gate valve, adiaphragm or membrane valve, any other device, element, or unit that mayselectively allow air to vent out of the fluid retaining interior region190 through the central portion 210 and that may also selectivelyprevent air from venting out of the fluid retaining interior region 190through the central portion 210, or any combination of the preceding. Asis illustrated, the valve 300 of FIGS. 5A-9 is a hole and plugcombination.

According to the illustrated example, the valve 300 includes a hole 115in the central portion 210, and a plug 301. The hole 115 may be anyopening that extends through the entire thickness of the central portion210, so that air can pass through the central portion 210 through thehole 115. The hole 115 may have any shape and/or size that allows thevalve 300 to selectively allow air to vent out of the fluid retaininginterior region 190 through the central portion 210, and also toselectively prevent air from venting out of the fluid retaining interiorregion 190 through the central portion 210.

The plug 301 may be any device, element, or unit that may selectivelyplug (or otherwise close) the hole 115. The plug 301 may be made of anymaterial that allows it to selectively plug (or otherwise close) thehole 115, thereby preventing air from passing through the centralportion 210. For example, the plug 301 may be made of rubber, a polymer,an elastomer (e.g., silicone, fluorosilicone, etc.), any other materialthat allows the plug 301 to selectively plug (or otherwise close) thehole 115 (thereby preventing air from passing through the centralportion 210), or any combination of the preceding. In a preferableexample, the plug 301 is made of a soft resilient deformable materiallike silicone rubber.

The plug 301 may have any size and/or shape that allows it toselectively plug (or otherwise close) the hole 115. For example, as isillustrated, the plug 301 may have a central portion 302 positioned atleast partially within the hole 115, a top portion 303, and bottomportion 304. The top portion 303 may extend outside of the top of thehole 115, and may have dimensions (e.g., width) that are larger thanthat of the hole 115. A user may push down on this top portion 303 tomove the plug 301 downward, and may pull upward on this top portion 303to move the plug 301 upward. The bottom portion 304 may extend outsideof the bottom of the hole 115, and may have dimensions (e.g., width)that are larger than that of the hole 115.

The central portion 302 may include two regions: a top wide region 302 aand a bottom narrow region 302 b. The top wide region 302 a may have ashape and/or size that is the same (or bigger than) the shape and/orsize of the hole 115. As such, when the top wide region 302 a ispositioned within (or aligned with) the hole 115 (e.g., when the plug301 is moved downward so that that top wide region 302 a is positionedwithin the sidewalls of the hole 115, as is seen in FIG. 5B), the topwide region 302 a may at least substantially close the hole 115,preventing air from passing through the valve 300.

The bottom narrow region 302 b may have a shape and/or size that isdifferent than and/or smaller than the shape and/or size of the hole115. As such, when the bottom narrow region 302 b is positioned within(or aligned with) the hole 115 (e.g., when the plug 301 is moved upwardso that that bottom narrow region 302 b is positioned within thesidewalls of the hole 115, as is seen in FIG. 5A), an air passageway maybe provided through the hole 115, as is illustrated in FIG. 5A. As anexample of the shape and/or size of the bottom narrow region 302 b, thebottom narrow region 302 b may not be as wide as the hole 115 (but itmay be as vertically thick or thicker than that of the hole 115). Asanother example, the bottom narrow region 302 b may be a different shapeas the hole (e.g., the hole 115 may have a circular cross section butthe bottom narrow region 302 b may have a triangular cross section).

When the valve 300 is open (e.g., when the plug 301 is pulled upward),air and vapor may exit the hole 115, and external air may enter the hole115 (which may release a vacuum within the fluid retaining interiorregion 190 of the container 110). Alternatively, when the valve 300 isclosed (e.g., when the plug 301 is pushed downward), air and vapor maybe prevented from exiting the hole 115, and external air may beprevented from entering the hole 115.

The valve 300 may further include an o-ring to seal and be in threadedengagement with the lid 200 via the perimeter of the hole 115, or aninsert therein (which is not shown), in some examples. Furthermore,although the valve 300 is illustrated as being open when the plug 301 ispulled upward, in some examples the valve 300 may be closed when theplug 301 is pulled upward (and may be open when the plug 301 is pusheddownward). In such examples, the bottom narrow region 302 b may bepositioned vertically above the top wide region 302 a.

In a preferred example, the valve 300 may further be able to provide oneor more indications about the food held and/or stored in the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100. For example, as is illustrated in FIG. 6, the lid 200 may include one or more markings 290 that indicate anuseful date for the food item held and/or stored in the food storage orcooking vessel 100 (e.g., an indication of the date when the food itemwas placed in the food storage or cooking vessel 100, an indication ofwhen the food item should be disposed of). As is illustrated, themarkings 290 may run from 1 to 7 for seven days of the week, but canrepresent an indication of the weeks of a month, months of a year, orany other indication (e.g., food type, cooking style, etc.).

In the example of FIG. 6 , the plug 301 may further include a shape ormarking (e.g., a single outward pointing hole 306) that may point to oneof the markings 290 on the lid 200. As such, if the outward pointinghole 306 points to the 4, it may indicate that the food item was put inthe food storage or cooking vessel 100 on Wednesday (i.e., the 4^(th)day of a week). This outward pointing hole 306 (or other shape ormarking) may be rotated (e.g., clockwise, counterclockwise) to any ofthe markings 290. To do so, the plug 301 may be rotated (by a user)within the hole 115, without venting air. To assist in rotating the plug301, the plug 301 may have an outer region 305 with an upward curlededge 307 that may be gripped by the user. When the valve 300 is closed,the top portion 303 of the plug 301 may be generally flat in the centralportion 210. However, the upward curled edge 307 of the plug 301 mayallow the user to easily grab and rotate the plug 301, even when thevalve 300 is closed. The plug 301 may have an upward extending portionfor gripping, which like the gasket is preferably rubber or elastomer tofacilitate gripping to release any vacuum therein, as well as to raisethe lid for serving cooked or stored food.

The central portion 210 may include any number of valves 300. Forexample, the central portion 210 may include 1 valve 300, 2 valves 300,3 valves 300, 4 valves 300, any other number of valves 300, or anynumber of valves 300 (or range of valves 300) in-between 1 valve 300 and4 valves 300. Furthermore, the valve(s) 300 may be positioned in anylocation in the central portion 210. For example, the valve 300 may bepositioned in the center of the central portion 210, off-center in thecentral portion 210, in a corner of the central portion 210, any otherlocation in the central portion 210, or any combination of thepreceding. As is illustrated, the central portion 210 of FIGS. 5A-9includes a single valve 300 positioned in the center of the centralportion 210.

In some examples, if the food item is already heated when it ispositioned in the container 110 (e.g., for storage), the hot food itemmay generate steam and air that is expelled out of open valve(s) 300.Furthermore, if the valve(s) 300 are closed, cooling of the hot fooditem in the container 110 (e.g., cooling in the refrigerator) maycondense steam that is trapped in the food storage or cooking vessel100. This condensation may result in a vacuum within the container 110,which may hold the lid 200 in place with greater force than just thefrictional engagement of the gasket 220 and flexible skirt 224 with thecontainer 110. This manner of providing a vacuum in the container 110may provide additional advantages, such as by providing protection ofthe food item therein from spilling (even if the container is inverted),improved storage life by excluding bacteria, and the avoidance of thetransfer of food item odors to the refrigerator. Unfortunately, thismanner of providing a vacuum could also cause issues, in some examples.For example, because atmospheric pressure on the lid 200 increases asthe lid size increases, providing such a vacuum within a large vessel(having a large lid size) may also require a reinforced lid or a thickerlid (or a limitation on the diameter of the lid).

The gasket 220 of the food storage or cooking vessel of FIGS. 5A-9(and/or of FIGS. 1A-2 , FIGS. 3A-3C, and/or FIGS. 4A-4B), however, mayprovide self-venting that may address this deficiency, in some examples.This self-venting may prevent the formation of too much of a vacuumwithin the container 110 (which may be problematic, as is discussedabove). Furthermore, after the self-venting occurs, the valve 300 may bere-opened, the lid 100 may be removed and re-inserted (or justre-inserted), and the valve 300 may then be closed to maintain the lid200 in the closed position.

To provide this self-venting, the flexible skirt 224 may be furtherconfigured so that at least a portion of the flexible skirt 224 may flex(or otherwise move) downward as a result of inside and outside pressure.This flexibility may cause this portion of the flexible skirt 224 todeform downwards, as is illustrated in FIGS. 7A-7C and 8 . For example,when a vacuum forms in the container 110 (e.g., due to the cooling of aheated food item in the sealed food storage or cooking vessel 100, as isdiscussed above), the higher atmospheric pressure outside of the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100 may cause a portion of a perimeter of theflexible skirt 224 to deform by flipping orientation and curlingdownward. This downward deformation may cause the outward facing portion224 a of the flexible skirt 224 to flip down and face inward, whilecausing the inward facing portion 224 b of the flexible skirt 224 toflip down and face outward, as is seen in FIGS. 7A-7C and 8 . Duringthis downward deformation, a small amount of air may enter the container110 through a gap created by the downward deformation, for example. Thismovement of a small amount of air into the container 110 is referred toas self-venting. The self-venting may prevent a full vacuum from formingin the container 110. In some examples, this self-venting may preventthe need for a reinforced lid or a thicker lid on larger containers 110(or may prevent a limitation on the diameter of the lid).

The flexible skirt 224 may provide this self-venting even though it maybe slightly curved upward in its un-deformed state (as is illustrated inFIG. 7A, and also discussed above), and further even though it may alsocurl upwards into an upward deformed state when it contacts the internalsurface 130 b of the sidewall 130 (as is illustrated in FIG. 7A, andalso discussed above). In such examples, the higher atmospheric pressureoutside of the food storage or cooking vessel 100 (when the container110 has developed a vacuum) may still cause a portion of a perimeter ofthe flexible skirt 224 to deform by flipping orientation and curlingdownward, for example.

The flexible skirt 224 may be configured in any way so as to allow theportion of a perimeter of the flexible skirt 224 to deform by flippingorientation and curling downward. For example, the flexible skirt 224may have any thickness (or other dimension) that allows such a downwarddeformation. As another example, the material of the gasket 220 and theflexible skirt 224 (e.g., a rubber, a polymer, an elastomer, as isdiscussed above) may allow (or contribute to allowing) such downwarddeformation.

The portion of the perimeter of the flexible skirt 224 that deformsdownward may be any portion of the perimeter of the flexible skirt 224.For example, it may only be a small portion of the perimeter of theflexible skirt 224, or it may be the entire perimeter of the flexibleskirt 224. Additionally, the portion of the flexible skirt 224 maydeform downward at any pressure differential where the outside pressureexceeds that pressure inside of the food storage or cooking vessel 100.

Furthermore, although the portion of the perimeter of the flexible skirt224 may deform downward, the remaining portion of the perimeter of theflexible skirt 224 may not. As such, the remaining portion of theperimeter of the flexible skirt 224 may remain in constant or nearconstant contact with the internal surface 130 b of the sidewall 130(e.g., due to the compliancy of the flexible skirt 224). This means thatthe downward deformed portion may be bounded (i.e., providing aboundary) on both sides by a remaining portion that is in constant ornear constant contact with the internal surface 130 b of the sidewall130. This may provide a slow decrease in vacuum level as is illustratedin FIG. 9 , which shows the measured change in pressure over time asnear boiling water cools to about 50° C. As is seen, the pressuredifferential (between the outside pressure and the pressure in the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100 with the valve 300 closed and the gasket200 sealing the lid 200 to the internal surface 130 b of the sidewall130) may increase by approximately 0.09 bars within less than 2 minutes,as the steam that has displaced air in the food storage or cookingvessel 100 condenses and drops the internal pressure. However, asindicated by the time axis placement of arrow 901, there is an initialalmost instantaneous decrease of the pressure differential as theexternal pressure causes downward deformation of the flexible skirt 224,causing it to flip so that the inward facing portion 224 b is in contactwith the internal surface 130 b of the sidewall 130 (instead of theoutward facing portion 224 a). Thereafter, the small non-contactingregions of the flexible skirt 224 surrounding the downward deformedportion may cause a slow leak of air so that the food storage or cookingvessel 100 is back at atmospheric pressure in about 15 minutes.

Modifications, additions, and/or substitutions may be made to the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100 of FIGS. 5A-9 without departing from thescope of the specification. For example, although the food storage orcooking vessel 100 is described above as including each of valve(s) 300,marking(s) 290, and a self-venting flexible skirt 224, in some examplesthe food storage or cooking vessel 100 may include only valve(s) 300,only marking(s) 290, only a self-venting flexible skirt 224, only two ofthe previous three features, or none of the previous three features.

FIGS. 10A-10D illustrate additional examples of gasket 220 of the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100. The gaskets 220 of FIGS. 10A-10D may besubstantially similar to the gaskets 220 of FIGS. 1A-2 , FIGS. 3A-3C,FIGS. 4A-4C, and/or FIGS. 5A-9 . However, the gaskets 220 of FIGS.10A-10D may have a different shape. For example, the flexible skirt 224of the gasket 220 of FIG. 10A may include a rounded tip (as opposed to aflat tip). This rounded tip may allow the flexible skirt 224 to moreeasily deform downward, and may also allow the flexible skirt 224 tomore easily flip back from the downward deformation after the pressuredifferential (between the outside pressure and the pressure inside thefood storage or cooking vessel 100) decreases.

This may allow the gasket 220 to further seal the food storage orcooking vessel 100 following the decrease in pressure differential.

As another example, the flexible skirt 224 of FIG. 10B may have adownward curvature in its un-deformed state (as opposed to the upwardcurvature seen in FIGS. 1A-9 ). As a further example, the flexible skirt224 of FIG. 10C may not have a curvature at all. Instead, it may extendoutward horizontally or substantially horizontally. It may also includea rounded tip. As another example, the flexible skirt 224 of FIG. 10Dmay extend outward horizontally or substantially horizontally, and myfurther have a large rounded tip.

FIGS. 11A-11B illustrate another example of the container 110 and thelid 200 of the food storage or cooking vessel 100, where the lid 200includes another example of a valve 300. The valve 300 of FIGS. 11A-11Bmay include a plug 301 having a top portion 303 that may be contractedinto a more vertically compact shape (e.g., in response to a downwardpressure on the top portion 303) and may also expand back upwards out ofthe more vertically compact shape (e.g., in response to the downwardpressure being removed). By contracting, a vertical dimension of the topportion 303 may be reduced, in some examples. This may allow multiplefood storage or cooking vessels 100 to be stacked on top of each other.For example, when stacked, the weight of the top vessel 100 may pressdownward on the top portion 303 of valve 300 of the bottom vessel 100,causing the top portion 303 to be urged downward so that the top portion303 contracts into a more vertically compact shape. In such an example,the vessels 100 can be stacked on top of each other without the topportion 303 of the lid 200 getting in the way of the stacking. In someexamples, the weight of the top vessel 100 (even if the vessel 100 isempty) with a lid 200 may be sufficient to urge the top portion 303 ofthe bottom vessel 100 downward so that the top portion 303 contractsinto the more vertically compact shape. This may allow the vessels 100to be stacked on top of each other, even when the vessels 100 are empty.

The top portion 303 of the plug 301 may also expand upwards out of themore vertically compact shape (e.g., in response to the downwardpressure being removed). By expanding upwards, the top portion 303 maymove upwards away from the lid 200, allowing it to be more easilygripped and/or handled by a user, in some examples. Furthermore, thevertical distance between the expanded top portion 303 and the lid 200may prevent the user's hand from being burnt by heat emanating from thevessel 100 and/or from being burnt by hot steam escaping through theopen valve 300, in some examples.

As is illustrated, the food storage or cooking vessel 100 of FIGS.11A-11B includes the container 110. The container 110 of FIGS. 11A-11Bmay be substantially similar to the container 110 of FIGS. 1A-2 , FIGS.3A-3C, FIGS. 4A-4B, and/or FIGS. 5A-9 . Additionally, the bottom 120 ofthe container 110 may include a bottom central portion 404 and a bottomperimeter portion 408. The bottom perimeter portion 408 may surround thebottom central portion 404, and may further extend downward from thebottom central portion 404.

By extending downward from the bottom central portion 404, the bottomperimeter portion 408 may create a vertical gap 412 in-between a bottomsurface 404 a of the bottom central portion 404 and a bottom surface 408a of the bottom perimeter portion 408. This vertical gap 412 may form aspace that prevents the bottom portion 404 from touching a flat surfacewhen the bottom perimeter portion 408 is positioned on the flat surface.The vertical gap 412 may be any vertical distance, such as orsubstantially (e.g., +/−10%) 2.5 millimeters, 5 millimeters, 7.5millimeters, 10 millimeters, 15 millimeters, 20 millimeters, 1 inch, 1.5inches, any other vertical distance, or any vertical distance (or rangeof vertical distances) in-between 2.5 millimeters and 1.5 inches.

As is illustrated, the food storage or cooking vessel 100 of FIGS.11A-11B further includes the lid 200. The lid 200 of FIGS. 11A-11B maybe substantially similar to the lid 200 of FIGS. 1A-2 , FIGS. 3A-3C,FIGS. 4A-4B, and/or FIGS. 5A-9 . Additionally, the central portion 210of the lid 200 of FIGS. 11A-11B may include one or more valves 300 whichmay selectively allow air to vent out of the fluid retaining interiorregion 190 of the container 110 when the lid 200 is sealing thecontainer 110 and the food storage or cooking vessel 100. The valve 300of FIGS. 11A-11B may be substantially similar to the valve 300 of FIGS.5A-9 . However, the valve 300 of FIGS. 11A-11B may further include aplug 301 that has a top portion 303 that may be urged downward so as tocontract into a more vertically compact shape, and that may also expandback upward out of the more vertically compact shape.

According to the illustrated example, the valve 300 includes a hole 115in the central portion 210, and a plug 301. The hole 115 may be anyopening that extends through the entire thickness of the central portion210, so that air can pass through the central portion 210 through thehole 115. The hole 115 may have any shape and/or size that allows thevalve 300 to selectively allow air to vent out of the fluid retaininginterior region 190 through the central portion 210, and also toselectively prevent air from venting out of the fluid retaining interiorregion 190 through the central portion 210.

The plug 301 may be any device, element, or unit that may selectivelyplug (or otherwise close) the hole 115. The plug 301 may be made of anymaterial that allows it to selectively plug (or otherwise close) thehole 115, thereby preventing air from passing through the centralportion 210. For example, the plug 301 may be made of rubber, a polymer,an elastomer (e.g., silicone, fluorosilicone, etc.), any other materialthat allows the plug 301 to selectively plug (or otherwise close) thehole 115 (thereby preventing air from passing through the centralportion 210), or any combination of the preceding. In a preferableexample, all or a portion of the plug 301 is made of a soft resilientdeformable material like silicone rubber.

The plug 301 may have any size and/or shape that allows it toselectively plug (or otherwise close) the hole 115. For example, as isillustrated, the plug 301 may have a central portion 302 positioned atleast partially within the hole 115, the top portion 303, and a bottomportion 304.

The top portion 303 may extend outside of the top of the hole 115, so asto extend vertically above a top surface (e.g., external surface 210 a)of the central portion 210. Furthermore, the top portion 303 may havedimensions (e.g., width) that are larger than that of the hole 115. Thismay prevent the plug 301 from being pushed entirely down through thehole 115, in some examples.

The top portion 303 may be configured to be contracted (e.g., by adownward pressure) into a more vertically compact shape. In someexamples, this may cause at least a top surface of the top portion 303to be moved downward towards the top surface of the central portion 210of the lid 200. An example of the top portion 303 contracted into a morevertically compact shape is illustrated in FIG. 11B with regard tobottom vessel 100 b. By contracting into a more vertically compactshape, a vertical dimension (e.g., height) of the top portion 303 may bereduced, in some examples. This may allow multiple food storage orcooking vessels 100 to be stacked on top of each other, as isillustrated in FIG. 11B. For example, when stacked, the weight of thetop vessel 100 (e.g., vessel 100 a of FIG. 11B) may press downward onthe top portion 303 of the bottom vessel 100 (e.g., vessel 100 b of FIG.11B), causing the top portion 303 to contract into a more verticallycompact shape. In such an example, the vessels 100 can be stacked on topof each other without the top portion 303 of the valve 300 of the bottomvessel 100 getting in the way of the stacking.

When the top portion 303 is contracted, the top portion 303 may have acompact vertical dimension 416 (e.g., compact height), as is illustratedin FIG. 11B. This compact vertical dimension 416 may be less than theuncompact vertical dimension 420 of the top portion 303, as is alsoillustrated in FIG. 11B. The compact vertical dimension 416 may be anyheight that is less than the height of uncompact vertical dimension 420,such as or substantially (e.g., +/−10%) 1 millimeter, 2 millimeters, 2.5millimeters, 5 millimeters, 7.5 millimeters, 10 millimeters, 15millimeters, 20 millimeters, 1 inch, 1.5 inches, any other height thatis less than the height of uncompact vertical dimension 420, or anyheight (or range of heights) in-between 1 millimeter and 1.5 inches.

In some examples, the compact vertical dimension 416 may be a heightthat is equal to or less than the vertical distance of the vertical gap412 in-between the bottom surface 404 a of the bottom central portion404 and the bottom surface 408 a of the bottom perimeter portion 408. Insuch examples, this may allow the top portion 303 to be contracted intoa compact vertical dimension 416 that does not interfere with thestacking of vessels 100. For example, when the top vessel 100 a isstacked onto the bottom vessel 100 b (as is illustrated in FIG. 11B),the bottom perimeter portion 408 of the top vessel 100 a may be able torest on the central portion 210 of the lid 200 of the bottom vessel 100b, and the top portion 303 of the valve 300 of the bottom vessel 100 bmay fit entirely within the vertical gap 412 of the top vessel 100 a.This may allow the top vessel 100 a to be more stable when stacked ontop of the bottom vessel 100 b, in some examples.

The contraction of the top portion 303 into a more vertically compactshape may, in some examples, refer to a least a sub-portion of the topportion 303 being flexed, folded, or otherwise moved into a morevertically compact shape. That is, the entire top portion 303 may not becontracted into a more vertically compact shape, in some examples.Further examples of this are described below with regard to FIG. 12E.Also, the contraction into the more vertically compact shape is fullyreversible in some examples, as it avoids plastic deformation of the topportion 303 so that the return to the expanded shape is an elasticrecovery. In the expanded shape, a graspable section of the top portion303 may extend sufficiently upward and away from the top surface of thecentral portion 210 of the lid 200, such that the lid 200 need not betouched (e.g., in case it is uncomfortably hot).

The top portion 303 may also be configured to expand back upwards out ofthe more vertically compact shape. (e.g., when the downward pressure isremoved). In some examples, this may cause at least a top surface of thetop portion 303 to move back upwards away from the top surface of thecentral portion 210 of the lid 200. An example of the top portion 303having expanded back upwards out of the more vertically compact shape isillustrated in FIG. 11B with regard to top vessel 100 a. By expandingback upwards, a vertical dimension (e.g., height) of the top portion 303may be increased, in some examples. This may allow the top portion 303to be more easily gripped and/or handled by a user, in some examples.For example, by expanding upward, the top portion 303 may move away fromthe top surface of the lid 200 (e.g., a topmost surface of the topportion 303 may move away from the top surface of the lid 200), whichmay provide additional space for the user to grip the top portion 303(e.g., so as to pull upward, so as to rotate the plug 301, so as to liftthe entire lid 200 off of the container 110), to grip an opening in thetop portion 303 (as is discussed below), to grip the top portion 303 inany other manner, or to otherwise handle the top portion 303.

The increased vertical dimension (e.g., height) of the top portion 303may further prevent the user's hand from being burnt by heat emanatingfrom the vessel 100 and/or from being burnt by hot steam escapingthrough the open valve 300, in some examples. For example, by expandingupward, the top portion 303 may move away from the top surface of thelid 200 (e.g., a topmost surface of the top portion 303 may move awayfrom the top surface of the lid 200), which may provide additionalspace. This additional space may allow the user to open the valve 300(e.g., by pulling upward on the top portion 303 or otherwise moving theplug 301 upward), while keeping the user's hand further away from anyhot steam escaping from the open valve 300. As such, the valve 300 maybe easier and/or safer to use, in some examples.

When the top portion 303 expands back upwards, the top portion 303 mayhave an uncompact vertical dimension 420 (e.g., uncompact height), as isillustrated in FIG. 11B. This uncompact vertical dimension 420 may begreater than the compact vertical dimension 416 of the top portion 303,as is also illustrated in FIG. 11B. The uncompact vertical dimension 420may be any height that is greater than the height of compact verticaldimension 416, such as or substantially (e.g., +/−10%) 5 millimeters,7.5 millimeters, 10 millimeters, 15 millimeters, 20 millimeters, 1 inch,1.5 inches, 2 inches, 2.5 inches, 3 inches, any other height that isgreater than the height of compact vertical dimension 416, or any height(or range of heights) in-between 10 millimeters and 2.5 inches.

In some examples, the uncompact vertical dimension 420 may be a heightthat is greater than the vertical distance of the vertical gap 412in-between the bottom surface 404 a of the bottom central portion 404and the bottom surface 408 a of the bottom perimeter portion 408. Insuch examples, this may allow the top portion 303 of the bottom vessel100 b to be urged downward so that the top portion 303 is contractedinto a more vertically compact shape (e.g., by the bottom surface 404 aof the top vessel 100 a) when the top vessel 100 a is positioned on thetop of the bottom vessel 100 b (as is illustrated in FIG. 11B). It mayalso allow the top portion 303 of the bottom vessel 100 b to expand backupwards when the top vessel 100 a is removed from the top of the bottomvessel 100 b.

The expansion of the top portion 303 back upwards may be automatic. Forexample, the expansion may not require the user to pull upward on thetop portion 303. Instead, the expansion may occur automatically when thedownward pressure is removed. The automatic expansion of the top portion303 back upwards may allow the vessel 100 to be more easily stacked. Forexample, the stacking of the top vessel 100 a on top of the bottomvessel 100 b (as is seen in FIG. 11B) may contract the top portion 303,while removal of the top vessel 100 a from the top of the bottom vessel100 b may automatically cause the top portion 303 (e.g., a topmostsurface of the top portion 303) of the bottom vessel 100 b to move backupwards. As such, the top portion 303 may now be ready to be gripped orotherwise handled by the user, without any additional action required bythe user to expand the top portion 303 back upwards, in some examples.This may simplify the stacking and unstacking of the vessels 100, insome examples.

The expansion of the top portion 303 may occur at any speed. Forexample, the top portion 303 may immediately spring upwards. In otherexamples, the top portion 303 may more slowly expand upwards.

The top portion 303 of the plug 301 may be configured in any manner thatmay allow the top portion 303 to be contracted (e.g., by a downwardpressure) into a more vertically compact shape and/or that may allow thetop portion 303 to expand back upwards out of the more verticallycompact shape (e.g., when the downward pressure is removed). Forexample, the top portion 303 may be made of a resilient material thatallows it to be contracted and/or expand back upwards, such as, forexample, silicone rubber. As another example, the top portion 303 mayhave a size, shape, and/or configuration that allows it to be contractedand/or expand back upwards. Examples of such a size, shape, and/orconfiguration are discussed below with regards to FIGS. 12A-12E and13A-13C. In other examples, the top portion 303 may be made of aresilient material that allows it to be contracted and/or expand backupwards (such as, for example, silicone rubber) and the top portion 303may further have a size, shape, and/or configuration that allows it tobe contracted and/or expand back upwards. In further examples, the topportion 303 may be configured in any other manner that may allow it tobe contracted and/or expand back upwards, or any combination of thepreceding.

As is illustrated in FIG. 11A, the plug 301 may further have the bottomportion 304 and the central portion 302. The bottom portion 304 mayextend outside of the bottom of the hole 115, so as to extend verticallybelow a bottom surface (e.g., internal surface 210 b) of the centralportion 210. Furthermore, the bottom portion 304 may have dimensions(e.g., width) that are larger than that of the hole 115. This mayprevent the plug 301 from being pulled entirely upward out of the hole115, in some examples. The bottom portion 304 may also have any shape.For example, the bottom portion 304 may have the shape of a disk, or maybe formed of two or more legs that extend outward from the center of thebottom portion 304. If the plug 301 is monolithic (i.e., formed as asingle unit), the legs should be sized and made of a flexible material,so as to allow the legs of the bottom portion 304 to be pushed downwardthrough the hole 115 in the lid 200 (e.g., when the valve 300 isassembled). It is preferable that the bottom portion 304 has 3 legs thatextend outward from the center of the bottom portion 304 with an angularseparation of about 120 degrees, in some examples. An example of this isillustrated in FIG. 12D. Once the plug 301 is inserted into the hole 115(with the bottom portion 304 extending outside of the bottom of the hole115), this may make it difficult to dislodge the plug 301 from the hole115 (even when a user pulls upward on the plug 301, so as to close thevalve 300), in some examples.

The central portion 302 may be positioned in-between and couple the topportion 303 to the bottom portion 304. The central portion 302 mayinclude two regions: a top wide region 302 a and a bottom narrow region302 b. The top wide region 302 a may have a shape and/or size that isthe same (or bigger than) the shape and/or size of the hole 115. Assuch, when the top wide region 302 a is positioned within (or alignedwith) the hole 115 (e.g., when the plug 301 is moved downward inrelation to the lid 200 so that that top wide region 302 a is positionedwithin the sidewalls of the hole 115, an example of which is seen inFIG. 5B and FIG. 11A), the top wide region 302 a may at leastsubstantially close the hole 115, preventing air from passing throughthe valve 300.

The bottom narrow region 302 b may have a shape and/or size that isdifferent than and/or smaller than the shape and/or size of the hole115. As such, when the bottom narrow region 302 b is positioned within(or aligned with) the hole 115 (e.g., when the plug 301 is moved upwardin relation to the lid 200 so that that bottom narrow region 302 b ispositioned within the sidewalls of the hole 115), an air passageway maybe provided through the hole 115. FIG. 5A illustrates an example of thispositioning and the air passageway. As an example of the shape and/orsize of the bottom narrow region 302 b, the bottom narrow region 302 bmay not be as wide as the hole 115 (but it may be as vertically thick orthicker than the thickness of the hole 115). As another example, thebottom narrow region 302 b may be a different shape than the hole (e.g.,the hole 115 may have a circular cross section but the bottom narrowregion 302 b may have a triangular cross section).

When the valve 300 is open (e.g., when the plug 301 is pulled upward),air and vapor may exit the hole 115, and external air may enter the hole115 (which may release a vacuum within the fluid retaining interiorregion 190 of the container 110). Alternatively, when the valve 300 isclosed (e.g., when the plug 301 is pushed downward), air and vapor maybe prevented from exiting the hole 115, and external air may beprevented from entering the hole 115.

The valve 300 may further include an o-ring to seal and be in threadedengagement with the lid 200 via the perimeter of the hole 115, or aninsert therein (which is not shown), in some examples. Furthermore,although the valve 300 is illustrated as being open when the plug 301 ispulled upward, in some examples the valve 300 may be closed when theplug 301 is pulled upward (and may be open when the plug 301 is pusheddownward). In such examples, the bottom narrow region 302 b may bepositioned vertically above the top wide region 302 a.

In a preferred example, the valve 300 of FIGS. 11A-11B may further beable to provide one or more indications about the food held and/orstored in the food storage or cooking vessel 100 via marking(s) 290 onthe lid 200 and the pointing hole 306, as is discussed above with regardto FIG. 6 .

The central portion 210 of FIGS. 11A-11B may include any number ofvalves 300. For example, the central portion 210 may include 1 valve300, 2 valves 300, 3 valves 300, 4 valves 300, any other number ofvalves 300, or any number of valves 300 (or range of valves 300)in-between 1 valve 300 and 4 valves 300. Furthermore, the valve(s) 300may be positioned in any location in the central portion 210. Forexample, the valve 300 may be positioned in the center of the centralportion 210, off-center in the central portion 210, in a corner of thecentral portion 210, any other location in the central portion 210, orany combination of the preceding. As is illustrated, the central portion210 of FIGS. 11A-11B includes a single valve 300 positioned in thecenter of the central portion 210.

In another preferred example, the vessel 100 of FIGS. 11A-11B mayinclude a gasket 220 with a self-venting flexible skirt 224, as isdiscussed above with regard to FIGS. 7A-9 .

Modifications, additions, and/or substitutions may be made to the foodstorage or cooking vessel 100 of FIGS. 11A-11B without departing fromthe scope of the specification. For example, although the food storageor cooking vessel 100 is described above as including each of valve(s)300, marking(s) 290, and a self-venting flexible skirt 224, in someexamples the food storage or cooking vessel 100 of FIGS. 11A-11B mayinclude only valve(s) 300, only marking(s) 290, only a self-ventingflexible skirt 224, only two of the previous three features, or none ofthe previous three features.

Furthermore, although the valve(s) 300 of FIGS. 11A-11B have beendescribed above as being used with a particular container 110 and aparticular lid 200, the valve(s) 300 of FIGS. 11A-11B may be used withany type of container and any type of lid. For example, the valve(s) 300of FIGS. 11A-11B may be used with a lid that may not include a centralportion 210, a gasket 220, or a lid rim 250. As an example of this, thelid may be a single glass lid or a single plastic lid. In such anexample, the valve(s) 300 may be positioned in a portion of the singleglass lid, or in a portion of the single plastic lid.

FIGS. 12A-12E and FIGS. 13A-13C illustrate examples of the plug 301 ofthe food storage or cooking vessel of FIGS. 11A-11B. As is discussedabove, the top portion 303 of the plug 301 may have a size, shape,and/or configuration that may allow the top portion 303 to be contracted(e.g., by a downward pressure) into a more vertically compact shapeand/or that may allow the top portion 303 to expand back upwards out ofthe more vertically compact shape (e.g., when the downward pressure isremoved). FIGS. 12A-12E illustrate examples of such a size, shape,and/or configuration of the top portion 303.

As is illustrated in FIG. 12A, the top portion 303 of the plug 301 mayinclude a top level 432, a bottom level 436, and two or more connectingsegments 440. The top level 432 may be the topmost portion of the plug301. When downward pressure is applied to the top level 432 of the plug301, the top portion 303 may contract into a more vertically compactshape, as is discussed above. An example of the top portion 303contracted into a more vertically compact shape is illustrated in FIG.12E. Additionally, when the downward pressure is removed from the toplevel 432, the top portion 303 may expand back upwards out of the morevertically compact shape, as is also discussed above. An example of thetop portion 303 expanded back upwards out of the more vertically compactshape is illustrated in FIG. 12A.

The top level 432 may be shaped substantially as a circle (e.g., it maybe shaped as a perfect circle, it may be shaped as an irregular circle,it may be shaped as an oval, etc.). Furthermore, in other examples, thetop level 432 may be shaped as any other shape, such as a square, arectangle, a diamond, an irregular shape, any other shape, or anycombination of the preceding.

The top level 432 may further have an opening 448 in the center of thetop level 432, as is illustrated in FIG. 12C. This opening 448 may allowa user to more easily grip the plug 301, so as to open the valve 300, totwist the plug 301, and/or to lift the lid 200 entirely off of thecontainer 110. Additionally, this opening 448 may further assist in thetop portion 303 being contracted into a more vertically compact shape.For example, the opening 448 may provide a space into which the bottomlevel 436 and the two or more connecting segments 440 may fit when thetop portion 303 is contracted. When contracted, the top level 432 maymove downwards toward the lid 200. This downward movement of the toplevel 432 may cause the two or more connecting segments 440 to fold (orotherwise move) into the opening 448 of the top level 432. Additionally,in some examples, the top level 432 may further move far enough downwardthat the opening 448 envelopes all or a portion of the bottom level 436(i.e., all or portion of the bottom level 436 may fit in the opening448). As such, this may further reduce the compact vertical dimension416 of the top portion 303.

As is discussed above, the top portion 303 may further include thebottom level 436, and the two or more connecting segments 440. Thebottom level 436 may be the bottommost portion of the top portion 303.Furthermore, the bottom level 436 may connect the top portion 303 to thecentral portion 302 of the plug 301. The bottom level 436 may have anyshape and/or size that allows all or a portion of the bottom level 436to fit within the opening 448 when the top portion 303 is contracted bya downward pressure. In some examples, when the top portion 303 iscontracted into the more vertically compact shape, the bottom level 436may not be contracted. That is, during the contraction of the topportion 303, the bottom level 436 may remain substantially in the sameposition as it was prior to the contraction (e.g., the bottom level 436may not move and/or the material of the bottom level 436 may not becompressed, or the movement and/or compression may be by aninsignificant amount in comparison to the movement of the top level 432and connecting segments 440). In such examples, only the top level 432and the connecting segments 440 may be contracted. An example of this isillustrated in FIG. 12E.

The connecting segments 440 may connect the top level 432 to the bottomlevel 436. To do so, the connecting segments 440 may extend upward fromthe bottom level 436 to the top level 432. As is illustrated, theconnecting segments 440 may spiral upward (e.g., they may extend upwardin a spiral configuration) from the bottom level 436 to the top level432. By spiraling upward, the connecting segments 440 be predisposed tobe moved so as to fit into the opening 448 when the top portion 303 iscontracted into a more vertically compact shape by a downward pressure.

The connecting segments 440 may have any shape and/or size that allowsthem to fit within the opening 448 when the top portion 303 iscontracted by a downward pressure.

Additionally, the top portion 303 may include any number of connectingsegments 440. For example, the top portion 303 may include 2 connectingsegments 440, 3 connecting segments 440, 4 connecting segments 440, orany other number of connecting segments 400. In some examples, the topportion 303 may include only 1 connecting segment 440.

FIGS. 13A-13C illustrate another example of the plug 301 of the foodstorage or cooking vessel of FIGS. 11A-11B. As is illustrated in FIGS.13A-13C, the top portion 303 of the plug 301 may include a flap 452 thatis coupled to and extends upward from the central portion 302 of theplug 301. The flap 452 may extend upward in any manner from the centralportion 302. For example, the flap 452 may curve upward, extend upwardin a straight diagonal line, extend upward in steps (e.g., like astairwell), extend upward in any other manner, or any combination of thepreceding. As is illustrated, the flap 452 curves upward. The flap 452may have any curvature that allows it to curve upwards. Furthermore, theflap 452 may be coupled to the central portion 302 at a bottom sectionof the curvature of the flap 452, as is illustrated. This may allow theflap 452 to curve upward from this coupling. Additionally, it may allowthe flap 452 to extend upward and outward from the coupling, which mayincrease the ability of the top portion 303 to be contracted into a morevertically compact shape.

The topmost portion of the flap 452 may form the topmost portion of theplug 301 (e.g., the top level). When downward pressure is applied to theflap 452 of the plug 301, the top portion 303 may be contracted into amore vertically compact shape, as is discussed above. An example of thetop portion 303 contracted into a more vertically compact shape isillustrated in FIG. 13C. When contracted into a more vertically compactshape, the upward curve of the flap 452 may bend downward so that itflattens out at (or near) the top surface of the lid 200. Additionally,when the downward pressure is removed from the flap 452, the top portion303 may expand back upwards out of the more vertically compact shape, asis also discussed above. An example of the top portion 303 expanded backupwards out of the more vertically compact shape is illustrated in FIGS.13A-13B. This expansion may cause the flap 452 to reform its upwardcurve.

As is illustrated in FIG. 13C, the flap 452 may include a bottom level454. This bottom level 454 of the flap 452 may be the bottommost portionof the top portion 303. Additionally, this bottom level 454 may notcurve upward with the remaining portion of the flap 452 (e.g., it may bethe bottom section of the curvature of the flap 452, as is discussedabove). In some examples, when the top portion 303 is contracted intothe more vertically compact shape, the bottom level 454 may not becontracted. That is, during the contraction of the top portion 303, thebottom level 454 may remain substantially in the same position as it wasprior to the contraction (e.g., the bottom level 454 may not move and/orthe material of the bottom level 454 may not be compressed, or themovement and/or compression may be by an insignificant amount incomparison to the movement of the remaining portion of the flap 452). Insuch examples, only the remaining portion of the top flap 452 may becontracted. An example of this is illustrated in FIG. 13C.

The flap 452 may be shaped substantially as a circle (e.g., it may beshaped as a perfect circle, it may be shaped as an irregular circle, itmay be shaped as an oval, etc.). Furthermore, in other examples, theflap 452 may be shaped as any other shape, such as a square, arectangle, a diamond, an irregular shape, any other shape, or anycombination of the preceding.

The flap 452 may have an opening 456 in the center of the flap 452. Thisopening 456 may allow a user to more easily grip the plug 301, so as toopen the valve 300, to twist the plug 301, and/or to lift the lid 200entirely off of the container 110. In other examples, the flap 452 maynot have an opening 456.

Modifications, additions, and/or substitutions may be made to the foodstorage or cooking vessel (or any of the components of the food storageor cooking vessel) of each of FIGS. 1A-13C without departing from thescope of the specification. For example, any of the food storage orcooking vessels (or any of the components of the food storage or cookingvessel) of any of FIGS. 1A-13C may be combined with or replaced with anyof the other food storage or cooking vessels (or any of the componentsof the food storage or cooking vessels) of any of the other FIGS.1A-13C. For example, the gasket 220 of FIG. 5A may be replaced with thegasket 220 of FIG. 10A or the gasket 220 of FIG. 10C.

The vessel 100 of FIGS. 1A-13C may be used for both storing and cookingfoods. Foods can be cooked in a microwave oven with the lid 200 inplace, and briefly finished in a conventional or convection oven tobrown the food after the lid 200 is removed.

The use of a metal annular lid rim 250 reinforces a soft rubber gasket220 to prevent the vacuum from the cooling of food from pulling ordisplacing the container lid 200 from the container rim 140. The gasket220 however provides the option of storing food under vacuum in arefrigerator or freezer.

It has also been discovered that the metal annular lid rim 250 does notget excessively hot from microwave cooking, as it appears to reflectmicrowave energy, and though the internal portion of the lid 200 andcontainer sidewall 130 are heated from the food and steam generated incooking, a rubber gasket 220, being a good thermal insulator, relativeto glass, prevents transfer of the heat to the metal annular lid rim250.

As such, the lid 200 can be left in place when food is brought to thetable for serving. As the gasket 220 prevents the leakage of hot air andsteam, food will remain hot for at least 30 minutes, and depending onthe initial temperature, substantially warm for 45 minutes or longer.These benefits are achieved when the lid 200 is about 4 mm thick and thecontainer sidewall 130 is about 5 mm thick. Glass within this range ofthickness aids in retaining heat, but still does not heat the metal lidrim 250 or the handle or grip portion (e.g., top portion 303) of thevalve 300. Hence, food can be served directly from the table by liftingthe lid 200 at the time of a meal, without a concern the lid edge, ormetal, or the grip being too hot, but the food will have remained verywarm.

It should be appreciated that when the flexible skirt 224 and sidewall130 are shaped to promote a large area of mutual contact at the innersurface 130 b, such contacting area may provide friction that resiststhe unintended removal of the lid 200 from the container 110 in theabsence of a vacuum in cavity 190. However, too large a contact areawould reduce the ability of the gasket outward facing portion 224 a toflip (so that it faces inward) as illustrated in FIG. 7A-C and FIG. 8 .It has been discovered that it is preferable that between 5 to 60% (andmore preferably between 10 to 50%) of the surface area (or the arcuatelength) of the outward facing portion 224 a should make contact with theinternal surface 130 b of the sidewall 130 of the container 110 toprovide sufficient friction to resist the lid 200 being easily displaced(which could cause the contents to leak), but still be capable offlipping to preclude an excess vacuum level (i.e., to self-vent). Anexample of this 5 to 60% of the surface area (or the arcuate length) ofthe outward facing portion 224 a in contact with the internal surface130 b is shown in FIG. 7A.

The grammatical articles “one”, “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in thisspecification, are intended to include “at least one” or “one or more”,unless otherwise indicated. Thus, the articles are used in thisspecification to refer to one, or more than one (i.e., to “at leastone”) of the grammatical objects of the article. By way of example, “acomponent” means one or more components, and thus, possibly, more thanone component is contemplated and may be employed or used in anapplication of the described embodiments. Further, the use of a singularnoun includes the plural, and the use of a plural noun includes thesingular, unless the context of the usage requires otherwise.Additionally, the grammatical conjunctions “and” and “or” are usedherein according to accepted usage. By way of example, “x and y” refersto “x” and “y”. On the other hand, “x or y” refers to “x”, “y”, or both“x” and “y”, whereas “either x or y” refers to exclusivity.

This specification has been written with reference to variousnon-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments or examples. However, itwill be recognized by persons having ordinary skill in the art thatvarious substitutions, modifications, or combinations of any of thedisclosed embodiments or examples (or portions thereof) may be madewithin the scope of this specification. Thus, it is contemplated andunderstood that this specification supports additional embodiments orexamples not expressly set forth in this specification. Such embodimentsor examples may be obtained, for example, by combining, modifying, orreorganizing any of the disclosed components, elements, features,aspects, characteristics, limitations, and the like, of the variousnon-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments or examples described inthis specification. In this manner, Applicant reserves the right toamend the claims during prosecution to add features as variouslydescribed in this specification.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vessel for one of cooking and storing one ormore food items, comprising: a) a container having a bottom and anupward extending sidewall that terminates in a rim that defines an upperopening of the container, the bottom having a bottom central portion anda bottom perimeter portion that surrounds the bottom central portion,the bottom perimeter portion extending downward from the bottom centralportion so as to create a vertical gap in-between a bottom surface ofthe bottom central portion and a bottom surface of the bottom perimeterportion; and b) a removable lid for the container, the lid comprising:i) a central portion having a valve configured to selectively allow airto vent out of a fluid retaining interior region of the container whenthe lid is positioned on the container, the valve comprising an openingthat extends entirely through a thickness of the central portion, thevalve further comprising a valve plug that comprises: (1) a valve topportion that extends vertically above a top surface of the centralportion of the lid, wherein the valve top portion is configured to becontracted, by a downward pressure, into a more vertically compactshape, wherein the valve top portion has a vertical dimension whencontracted that is less than or equal to the vertical gap in-between thebottom surface of the bottom central portion and the bottom surface ofthe bottom perimeter portion, wherein the valve top portion is furtherconfigured to, absent the downward pressure, expand back upwards out ofthe more vertically compact shape, wherein the valve top portion has asecond vertical dimension when expanded that is greater than thevertical gap in-between the bottom surface of the bottom central portionand the bottom surface of the bottom perimeter portion; (2) a valvebottom portion that extends vertically below a bottom surface of thecentral portion of the lid; and (3) a valve central portion positionedat least partially within the opening of the central portion of the lid,the valve central portion coupling the valve top portion to the valvebottom portion, the valve central portion comprising:
 1. a top wideregion configured to at least substantially seal the opening; and
 2. abottom narrow region configured to unseal the opening so as to providean air passageway through the opening, wherein the valve top portion isentirely disposed above the central portion of the lid when the top wideregion of the valve central portion is disposed to at leastsubstantially seal the opening, and wherein the valve bottom portion isentirely disposed below the central portion of the lid when the top wideregion of the valve central portion is disposed to at leastsubstantially seal the opening; ii) an annular gasket positioned tosurround a perimeter of the central portion of the lid; and iii) anannular lid rim positioned to surround a perimeter of at least a portionof the gasket.
 2. A vessel for one of cooking and storing one or morefood items, comprising: a) a container having a bottom and an upwardextending sidewall that terminates in a rim that defines an upperopening of the container, the bottom having a bottom central portion anda bottom perimeter portion that surrounds the bottom central portion,the bottom perimeter portion extending downward from the bottom centralportion so as to create a vertical gap in-between a bottom surface ofthe bottom central portion and a bottom surface of the bottom perimeterportion; and b) a removable lid for the container, the lid comprising avalve configured to selectively allow air to vent out of a fluidretaining interior region of the container when the lid is positioned onthe container, the valve comprising an opening that extends entirelythrough a thickness of a portion of the lid, the valve furthercomprising a valve plug that comprises: i) a valve top portion thatextends vertically above a top surface of the portion of the lid,wherein the valve top portion is configured to be contracted, by adownward pressure, into a more vertically compact shape, wherein thevalve top portion is further configured to, absent the downwardpressure, expand back upwards out of the more vertically compact shape;ii) a valve bottom portion that extends vertically below a bottomsurface of the portion of the lid; and iii) a valve central portionpositioned at least partially within the opening of the portion of thelid, the valve central portion coupling the valve top portion to thevalve bottom portion, wherein the valve top portion is entirely disposedabove a central portion of the lid when the valve central portion isdisposed to at least substantially seal the opening, and wherein thevalve bottom portion is entirely disposed below the central portion ofthe lid when the valve central portion is disposed to at leastsubstantially seal the opening, wherein the valve top portion compriseseither: (1) an upward curved flap, the upward curved flap having anopening in the center of the upward curved flap, the upward curved flapbeing coupled to the valve central portion at a bottom section of thecurvature of the upward curved flap; or (2) a substantially circular toplevel having an opening in the center; a bottom level; and two or moreconnecting segments that spiral upward from the bottom level to thesubstantially circular top level.
 3. The vessel according to claim 2,wherein: a) the valve top portion has a vertical dimension whencontracted that is less than or equal to the vertical gap in-between thebottom surface of the bottom central portion and the bottom surface ofthe bottom perimeter portion; and b) the valve top portion has a secondvertical dimension when expanded that is greater than the vertical gapin-between the bottom surface of the bottom central portion and thebottom surface of the bottom perimeter portion.
 4. The vessel accordingto claim 2, wherein the valve central portion comprises: a) a wideregion configured to at least substantially seal the opening; and b) anarrow region configured to unseal the opening so as to provide an airpassageway through the opening.
 5. The vessel according to claim 4,wherein: a) the wide region is a top wide region that is configured toat least substantially seal the opening when the valve central portionis moved downward in relation to the lid; and b) the narrow region is abottom narrow region that is configured to unseal the opening so as toprovide an air passageway through the opening when the valve centralportion is moved upward in relation to the lid.
 6. The vessel accordingto claim 2, wherein the vessel is configured to be heated in a microwaveoven while the vessel is sealed by the lid.
 7. The vessel according toclaim 2, wherein the lid further comprises: a) the central portion,wherein the central portion of the lid comprises the portion of the lid;b) an annular gasket positioned to surround a perimeter of the centralportion of the lid; and c) an annular lid rim positioned to surround aperimeter of at least a portion of the gasket.
 8. The vessel accordingto claim 7, wherein the annular gasket comprises: a) an upper portioncoupling the gasket to the central portion; b) a vertical portiondescending downward from the upper portion of the gasket, the verticalportion having an outer side that is positioned horizontally inward froman external edge of the upper portion of the gasket; and c) a flexibleskirt extending horizontally outward from the outer side of the verticalportion of the gasket.
 9. The vessel according to claim 2, wherein thecontainer and the portion of the lid are both made of glass.
 10. Thevessel according to claim 2, wherein the container has one or moreindentations in an external surface of the sidewall of the container,wherein the one or more indentations extend upward to the rim of thecontainer.
 11. The vessel according to claim 2, wherein at least aportion of the valve plug is made of silicone rubber.
 12. A removablelid for a container of a vessel, comprising: a) a valve configured toselectively allow air to vent out of a fluid retaining interior regionof the container when the lid is positioned on the container, the valvecomprising an opening that extends entirely through a thickness of aportion of the lid, the valve further comprising a valve plug thatcomprises: i) a valve top portion that extends vertically above a topsurface of the portion of the lid, wherein the valve top portion isconfigured to be contracted, by a downward pressure, into a morevertically compact shape, wherein the valve top portion is furtherconfigured to, absent the downward pressure, expand back upwards out ofthe more vertically compact shape, wherein the valve top portionincludes a top level configured to move downwards towards a top surfaceof the portion of the lid when the valve top portion is contracted intothe more vertically compact shape, wherein the valve top portion furtherincludes a bottom level configured to remain substantially in the sameposition when the valve top portion is contracted into the morevertically compact shape; ii) a valve bottom portion that extendsvertically below a bottom surface of the portion of the lid; and iii) avalve central portion positioned at least partially within the openingof the portion of the lid, the valve central portion coupling the valvetop portion to the valve bottom portion, wherein the valve top portionis entirely disposed above a central portion of the lid when the valvecentral portion is disposed to at least substantially seal the opening,and wherein the valve bottom portion is entirely disposed below thecentral portion of the lid when the valve central portion is disposed toat least substantially seal the opening, wherein either: (1) the toplevel is a substantially circular top level having an opening in thecenter, and wherein the valve top portion further comprises two or moreconnecting segments that spiral upward from the bottom level to thesubstantially circular top level; or (2) the valve top portion comprisesan upward curved flap, the upward curved flap having an opening in thecenter of the upward curved flap, the upward curved flap being coupledto the valve central portion at a bottom section of the curvature of theupward curved flap, wherein the bottom section comprises the bottomlevel, and wherein a remaining portion of the upward curved flapcomprises the top level.
 13. The removable lid according to claim 12,wherein the valve central portion comprises: a) a wide region configuredto at least substantially seal the opening; and b) a narrow regionconfigured to unseal the opening so as to provide an air passagewaythrough the opening.
 14. The removable lid according to claim 12,wherein: a) the wide region is a top wide region that is configured toat least substantially seal the opening when the valve central portionis moved downward in relation to the lid; and b) the narrow region is abottom narrow region that is configured to unseal the opening so as toprovide an air passageway through the opening when the valve centralportion is moved upward in relation to the lid.
 15. The removable lidaccording to claim 12, wherein the lid further comprises: a) the centralportion, wherein the central portion of the lid comprises the portion ofthe lid; b) an annular gasket positioned to surround a perimeter of thecentral portion of the lid; and c) an annular lid rim positioned tosurround a perimeter of at least a portion of the gasket.
 16. A method,comprising: a) positioning a vessel within an interior of a microwaveoven, wherein the vessel is for one of cooking and storing one or morefood items, the vessel comprising: i) a container having a bottom and anupward extending sidewall that terminates in a rim that defines an upperopening of the container; ii) a removable lid for the container, the lidcomprising a valve configured to selectively allow air to vent out of afluid retaining interior region of the container when the lid ispositioned on the container, the valve comprising an opening thatextends entirely through a thickness of a portion of the lid, the valvefurther comprising a valve plug that comprises: (1) a valve top portionthat extends vertically above a top surface of the portion of the lid,wherein the valve top portion is configured to be contracted, by adownward pressure, into a more vertically compact shape, wherein thevalve top portion is further configured to, absent the downwardpressure, expand back upwards out of the more vertically compact shape;(2) a valve bottom portion that extends vertically below a bottomsurface of the portion of the lid; and (3) a valve central portionpositioned at least partially within the opening of the portion of thelid, the valve central portion coupling the valve top portion to thevalve bottom portion, wherein the valve top portion is entirely disposedabove a central portion of the lid when the valve central portion isdisposed to at least substantially seal the opening, and wherein thevalve bottom portion is entirely disposed below the central portion ofthe lid when the valve central portion is disposed to at leastsubstantially seal the opening, wherein the valve top portion compriseseither: (a) an upward curved flap, the upward curved flap having anopening in the center of the upward curved flap, the upward curved flapbeing coupled to the valve central portion at a bottom section of thecurvature of the upward curved flap; or (b) a substantially circular toplevel having an opening in the center; a bottom level; and two or moreconnecting segments that spiral upward from the bottom level to thesubstantially circular top level; and b) activating the microwave ovenwhile the vessel is positioned within the interior of the microwave ovenand further while the vessel is sealed by the lid.
 17. The methodaccording to claim 16, further comprising opening the valve positionedin the portion of the lid prior to positioning the vessel within theinterior of the microwave oven.